This meta-analysis examines the relationship between entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) elements and regional entrepreneurial activity (EA). An extensive literature search is performed to identify quantitative studies covering EE elements and EA at the regional level (257 studies) and to extract relevant data (2,241,813 observations). To synthesize the findings, we group the potential antecedent variables based on Stam’s (European Planning Studies, 23(9):1759-1769, 2015) EE framework. The results show large differences in the effect sizes and relevance of EE elements. Based on the empirical results, three relevant elements underlying all EEs are identified: demand, talent, and finance. Our results remain robust after using different methods for variable grouping, applying meta-analytic regression, and controlling for country, publication specifics, and grouping errors. Propositions for building an EE theory are derived, and future research opportunities are discussed, as well as policy implications.

该荟萃分析研究了创业生态系统（EE）要素与区域创业活动（EA）之间的关系。我们进行了广泛的文献检索，以确定区域层面涵盖 EE 要素和 EA 的定量研究（257 项研究）并提取相关数据（2,241,813 个观察值）。为了综合研究结果，我们根据 Stam 的 ( European Planning Studies , 23 (9):1759-1769, 2015) EE 框架对潜在的先行变量进行分组。结果显示 EE 元素的效应大小和相关性存在巨大差异。根据实证结果，确定了所有 EE 的三个相关要素：需求、人才和财务。在使用不同的变量分组方法、应用荟萃分析回归并控制国家、出版物细节和分组错误后，我们的结果仍然稳健。提出了建立 EE 理论的建议，并讨论了未来的研究机会以及政策影响。