The Development of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in leading Startup Hubs in Germany and Israel: A Comparison and Synergistic Potential Analysis
- Entrepreneurship and innovation are regarded as decisive elements for economic success and growth. Since no entrepreneur can be successful on his own, it is worth considering the entrepreneurial environment. In this so-called Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, all stakeholders interact with the founders who are the focus of attention. Since the concept in this form is relatively new, there are many different models and opinions. One goal of this work is therefore to create a uniform understanding of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem and then apply it to the leading startup hubs in Germany and Israel. These two economies have very different backgrounds: Germany is considered as a strong industrial nation and Israel as “Startup Nation” (Senor und Singer 2009). Both nations have particular strengths and weaknesses that have grown out of their histories. Germany has special advantages as the more populous country and its central position within Europe, while Israel is a small country, surrounded by enemies and does not possess any natural resources. How one of the most innovative economies in the world could develop there despite this fact, or perhaps precisely because of it and how they could even overtake Germany in some highly technological fields, will be explained in the course of this thesis. However, the main research goal of this thesis was to find out which synergistic potentials result from this exciting combination for the Entrepreneurial Ecosystems of both countries. To create synergies, the Entrepreneurial Ecosystems of Germany and Israel should focus on their strengths and try to reduce their weaknesses through collaboration with the other country. Nine qualitative expert interviews were conducted to underline the theoretical foundation and to enable a stronger argumentation in the results. The research found, that the exchange of strengths should take place at three relevant levels: private business engagement, education and IP / technology transfer, and location marketing to attract foreign founders.