Entrepreneurship in East Asian Regional Innovation Systems: Role of social capital

This paper analyzes the role of social capital in entrepreneurial RIS (Regional Innovation Systems). We disaggregate the features of mature entrepreneurial RIS into three dimensions of social capital: structural, relational, and cognitive. We apply these features of mature entrepreneurial RIS to the still-evolving entrepreneurial RIS from East Asia including Daedeok Innopolis of Korea and Hsinchu Science Park of Taiwan. The spawning effect of representative companies within focal industries, collaboration among the key organizational actors, and attraction and retention of talent are taken into account. The study uncovers a new aspect of still-evolving entrepreneurial RIS, which complements the existing typology categorizing RIS into institutional RIS and entrepreneurial RIS. Whereas the conventional literature has viewed the East Asian RIS as institutional RIS, the findings of this study allow scholars to view the East Asian RIS as entrepreneurial in their own distinctive manner. Meanwhile, we also find an important implication for making a shift from a top-down to a bottom-up approach in order for the still-evolving entrepreneurial RIS to vitalize cognitive social capital. Thus, we suggest the transitions from outward-looking social capital to inward-looking social capital. •Derive the proposition of social capital role for the East Asian entrepreneurial RIS.•Examine the status of representative East Asian RIS cases.•Vitalize cognitive social capital for mature entrepreneurial RIS.•Transition from top-down to bottom-up approach in order to make the best use of social capital.