Elements of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Accounting Firms in India

Abstract

This study sets out to explore elements of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in an Indian context. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted in Chennai, India with the owner-managers of small and medium sized accountancy firms to identify the most important elements of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The respondents interviewed gave information upon their professional experiences, entrepreneurial orientations, key stakeholders and the opinions towards the knowledge intensive accounting profession. Qualitative data analysis reveals that the entrepreneurship orientation exhibited by owner-managers' of small and medium-sized accounting firms differs due to the complex interplay of several actors in an entrepreneurial ecosystem. The key elements of the entrepreneurial ecosystem include a combination of individual, societal, institutional and cultural factors relating to the themes of importance such as education and training, organisational culture, funding availability, support services and social networking and gender orientation. Government interventions, with the help of other non-government organisations, advocacy groups, universities and funding investors, are critical in developing nations in order to promote sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems and to overcome gender-based discrimination in small and medium sized accounting firms operating in India.