Building a Dynamic Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Through Local Funds and Government Initiatives

Abstract

This study was started with the understanding and in-depth activities promoted towards achieving Vision 2030. An entrepreneurial ecosystem paves the way for entrepreneurs to create a sustainable way of starting and running their business efficiently. There are various initiatives promoted by the government of Saudi Arabia, but still, there are perceivable gaps. This study aimed at identifying the gaps, and prime variables that cause a gap in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Servqual model is customized and applied to identify the gaps in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The literature review was conducted to find out the relationship between academics and entrepreneurship. The resource-based view explains the assets in a territory that provide support to start up a new business and bring a competitive advantage. The resources can be tangible or intangible for venture creation. This clearly makes the distinction of the territory. The resource-based view is applied to the study to find out the resources that can be developed and create a venture start-up to achieve a competitive advantage. The variables shortlisted for creating a venture start-up are shortlisted such as business plan, venturing time, human resources, financing, tax, licensing, innovation, locational choices, motivation and education levels of the entrepreneurs, market intelligence, and culture. A survey was conducted which focused on identifying the gaps in the ecosystem. There were 131 participants for the research survey. Entrepreneurs from diverse industries participated in the study. The survey was conducted in English, through an online mode. The responses were collected using a Likert scale. The analysis was conducted through statistical methods and a gap analysis was performed through the Servqual model. Major perceivable gaps were found in the tangibility factors and reliability factors. The assurance dimension also had a significant gap.

6.2 Recommendations According to the resource-based view, the assets in a territory play a role in starting up the venture and bring a competitive advantage. Here, to make the resources available to the entrepreneurs, there should be an open window system that should exist to pave the way to help the entrepreneurs in need with the essential guidance. A resource-based view is an approach that determines the tangible and intangible assets that play a role in a venture start-up. This makes a clear distinction of the territory. The resource-based view explains the competitive advantage of a venture by making use of the available resources that can be developed. The Servqual analysis conveyed that the tangible variables such as financing, market intelligence, location access, and innovation have a major gap. Other perceivable gaps were found in the policies on the understanding of the entrepreneurs and the Vision of 2030 itself. The other dimension where the gap existed is in the assurance factors, such as the tax and the legal environment. The Vision of 2030 by the Saudi Arabian government is aimed at increasing entrepreneurship through small and medium scale enterprises. The government has also facilitated this through various initiatives and promotions to create the ecosystem. The entrepreneurs ranged from all different backgrounds of education. Out of the sample size covered, though the majority of them had a higher education, a small portion of them have their education only till school. Entrepreneurial education should start from the schools. Learning and understanding basic finance will help them to build better enterprises. This research was focused on the interconnected entrepreneurial actors of the ecosystem (Mason & Brown, 2014). The domains covered in the research included culture, tax and regulation, finance, and human resources (Mason & Brown, 2014). This research has also proved that the entrepren