Public policies for fostering the entrepreneurship industry: unlocking the black box of collaborative governance mechanisms in ecosystems

Abstract

Abstract The entrepreneurship industry comprises economic activities organized to promote regional entrepreneurial development and relies on collaborative governance mechanisms capable of handling diverse stakeholders, power asymmetries, and conflicting interests. Although the role of governance is widely acknowledged, these mechanisms remain a “black box,” as little is known about how abstract governance functions translate into concrete practices that can be stimulated through public policy. This qualitative study, based on an in-depth case study and semi-structured interviews, examines the operationalization of governance within the public program Inova RS, developed in southern Brazil, with the aim of understanding how governance functions are enacted through public policy in an emerging economy. The findings reveal a central governance function in the context of public policies, particularly in the Global South: orchestration. These findings demonstrate how public policies can foster the entrepreneurship industry by structuring micro-governance practices that sustain territorial collaboration and help overcome institutional fragmentation. From a theoretical perspective, the study advances the classical governance model by introducing the function of orchestrating and proposing a new procedural order for governance functions. From a practical point of view, it provides guidance for designing policies and instruments capable of strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystems in emerging contexts, reinforcing their relevance for regional development.