Ecosystems without institutions? How informal entrepreneurial communities generate resilience through relational infrastructures

Purpose This study aims to examine how informal entrepreneurial communities generate ecosystem contribution capacity under fragmented institutional conditions. It challenges institution-centric views of entrepreneurial ecosystems by examining how community-rooted entrepreneurial actors contribute to ecosystem continuity through relational and adaptive mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on survey data from 172 entrepreneurial actors across Eastern and Northern India, the study adopts an exploratory configurational approach using Classification and Regression Tree analysis. The analysis is guided by the Power of Small framework, which emphasizes embedded networks, resource fluidity, micro-innovation and institutional negotiation. Findings Collaborative embeddedness emerged as the most influential condition associated with ecosystem contribution capacity. Multiple ecosystem-generating pathways were identified, suggesting equifinality and conditional interactions among relational and adaptive conditions. The findings indicate that trust-based coordination provides relational infrastructure through which resource circulation, experimentation, institutional navigation and adaptive participation can contribute to market continuity and opportunity circulation. Originality/value The study advances the Power of Small framework, introduces ecosystem contribution capacity and bridges ecosystem and informal-economy scholarship by conceptualizing entrepreneurial communities as relational infrastructures. It extends the visibility paradox by highlighting less visible actors’ ecosystem-maintaining contributions and suggests how relational density complements institutional density in fragmented contexts.