should be considered in the broader context of socio-economic outcomes.

Further examples with detailed information on how such diagnostics could be implemented is provided by Cruz and Zhu (2022). The first part of the diagnostic toolkit describes in more details the implementation of each stage we propose, including references to data set and examples of implementation. A pilot of these diagnostics, following the conceptual framework and stages of assessment proposed in this paper, have been implemented in several countries, including Senegal (Cruz, Dutz, and Rodríguez-Castelán (2022) and Cruz, Torres, and Tran (2022)), Kenya (Cruz and Zenaida, 2022), and Romania (Cruz et al., 2022). In each of these countries, the implementation of the assessment relied on the most comprehensive and representative establishment-level data, used to identify the potential of key local entrepreneurial ecosystems, along primary data collection of enablers to providing support in the ecosystem.

In Romania, the cross-country context analysis conducted in the first phase suggested that despite the relatively high entry, there was a lack of high-growth and innovative entrepreneurship, with many necessity driven firms. A deeper dive into the entrepreneurial ecosystem pillars suggested significant room for improving allocation of existent human capital. The local analysis, supported by representative primary data focusing on digital startups demonstrated significant differences on resource endowments and allocation barriers between firms that received venture capital investment and the average young digital businesses. The mapping of public policies have identified significant needs to improve the policy mix for innovation, entrepreneurship, and digitalization and its institutional capabilities to implement these programs, by reallocating resources that were already being targeting private sector development. The complementary analysis, following the conceptual framework we propose in this paper, has facilitated the identification of key priority actions for government policy, as well as other stakeholders in the ecosystem. The description of the diagnostic following this conceptual framework is provided by (Cruz et al., 2022), while the detailed guidance for implementation of the recommended policies is described by (Kapil et al., 2022).

# **6. Concluding remarks**

In their efforts to ignite economic growth and development, policy makers are increasingly turning to entrepreneurship in general, and entrepreneurial ecosystems. However, the enthusiasm for entrepreneurial ecosystems has not been matched with a concomitant theoretical basis for linking entrepreneurs and their decision making to the broader ecosystem context. This paper provides such a theoretical model focusing on the entrepreneur and their decision making at the center of the ecosystem.

This paper proposes a conceptual framework to evaluate entrepreneurial ecosystems. The framework posited in the paper is able to show that an entrepreneurial ecosystem context consisting of three key pillarsâ resource endowments, demand for resources, and allocation barriers - enhances entrepreneurial performance. This framework offers more than just a micro-based view linking entrepreneurs to the broader ecosystem context. The analysis identifying the components of these three pillars provides a compelling diagnostic to inform and guide policy makers as they devise, development, nurture and sustain their place specific entrepreneurial ecosystems.

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