How to foster techno-entrepreneurship within a regional ecosystem

Objectives. The aim of the research is to deepen the relationship between actors in a regional ecosystem through the lens of a business incubator and a start-up, and specifically the ways in which they interact to foster the development of techno-entrepreneurship at regional level. Methodology. Given the explorative nature of this work, the study adopts a qualitative methodology through a multiple case study method focusing on The Net Value incubator and the start-up IntendiMe to investigate how their interactions facilitate the development of technoentrepreneurship within a regional ecosystem of Sardinia. Findings. Through our case studies, we show the interactions among the actors of a regional ecosystem from the perspective of a business incubator and a start-up. Furthermore, we display how the business incubator facilitates these interactions to foster technoentrepreneurship. Research limitations. This research represents a first attempt to understand how the interactions between techno-entrepreneurial actors, represented by the incubator and a startup, encourage techno-entrepreneurship within a regional context, but such research will require further theoretical and empirical contributions. Practical implications. This study might be an interesting framework for technoentrepreneurs to understand the strategic advantages from the relationships with multiple actors to foster the development of techno-entrepreneurship within a regional ecosystem. Originality of the study. Until now, the studies on techno-entrepreneurship poorly focused on the building process of entrepreneurial ecosystems. Accordingly, the interactions between a business incubator and a start-up in an entrepreneurial system represents a runner-up topic.