Exploring Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Growth Through Intermediaries-Anchor Organisation Interactions

Abstract

Agri-food technology can provide innovative solutions to the traditional agri-food sector in the face of increased demands from the environment, consumers, and policymakers. New Zealand is a global leader in agri-food commodity production and exports, however, several challenges exist in the nascent agri-food technology ecosystem such as the absence of key ecosystem actors, resource dependency and leakage. Anchor organisations are recognised as essential actors for fostering entrepreneurial ecosystem growth through knowledge sharing and spillovers and attracting and deploying resources. This research aims to understand anchor organisation’s role and interactions within New Zealand’s agri-food tech entrepreneurial ecosystem, and how intermediation can enhance the value they create for the ecosystem in which they are embedded. Specifically, how intermediary organisations can facilitate and broker greater interactions between anchor organisations and other ecosystem actors. This qualitative study adopts an objective ontological view in a pragmatic paradigm. Abductive reasoning directed data collection and analysis as semi-structured interviews and visual methodology was collected as primary data. Ten anchor organisations from New Zealand’s agri-food ecosystem were interviewed including universities, crown research institutes, co-operatives and private/investor-owned corporations. Lower dependency on anchor organisations requires ecosystem actors to collaboratively address the gaps and opportunities in New Zealand’s agri-food tech entrepreneurial ecosystem. This includes greater independent generation and recycling of resources between actors. Furthermore, we would expect greater collaborations could increase entrepreneurial opportunities and promote the growth of the ecosystem.