Supporting entrepreneurship in the creative and cultural sector

"Supporting Entrepreneurship in the Creative and Cultural Sector" is a qualitative dissertation that aims to explore through an entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) approach the entrepreneurial support (ES) dynamics in a sector that is not market driven. It develops around three papers. "From Fragmentation to Integration: Entrepreneurial Support in Multi-Layered Entrepreneurial Ecosystems" investigates how actors at different layers of an EE support entrepreneurs and integrate their supporting efforts over time. The paper use an in-depth longitudinal case study of an Italian Region to observe ES initiatives at the macro (governmental bodies), meso (entrepreneurial support organisations) and micro (entrepreneurs) layers. The paper contributes to EE literature deepening our understanding of how the interplay of different layers shapes entrepreneurial support initiatives. "Supporting entrepreneurship in the creative and cultural sector: an entrepreneurial support organisation’s perspective" explores how entrepreneurial support organisations specialised in creative and cultural entrepreneurship design their activities to address some crucial problems: an unstable and unclear sector definition, the double success criterion, and the pressure from policymakers to generate a positive spillover effect. Through a longitudinal case study approach, it observes the evolution of the calls for competition promoted by a program supporting local startups and associations. The paper contributes to ES literature identifying how different parts of the calls for competition can be used to leverage some mechanisms to face practical supporting problems. "Entrepreneurial ecosystems in festivals: evidence from Lucca Comics & Games" starts from the phenomenon-driven question "how does a festival come to support entrepreneurs" to understand how a festival (Lucca Comics & Games) can fulfil the function of an EE. Through a longitudinal case study analyses of festival archival data, interviews, and observations, the paper contributes to EE literature showing the key role played by the community in fostering the establishment of a temporary but mature community-based EE.