This article explores a phenomenon of a regional startup ecosystem—its key elements, resources and mechanisms needed for the ecosystem development and growth. Despite famous success stories of such regional ecosystems as Silicon Valley, the literature suggests multiple problems to emerge on the ecosystem development pathway. One of the common issues is a relative disconnect between the knowledge subsystem represented by research centers or universities and a business subsystem represented by mainly large firms. The current understanding of the underlying mechanisms helping to bridge the gap between knowledge and business ecosystems in entrepreneurial regions remain limited. Studying the case of one of the oldest science and technology parks in the world, Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, USA, we explore the development of a regional ecosystem—its elements, challenges and mechanisms to address those. Our findings reveal the key elements, with entrepreneurial networks being one of the most crucial, and explain the difficulties in the elements’ interaction.

本文探讨了区域创业生态系统的现象——生态系统发展壮大所需的关键要素、资源和机制。尽管像硅谷这样的区域生态系统有著名的成功案例，但文献表明生态系统发展路径上出现了多个问题。一个常见问题是以研究中心或大学为代表的知识子系统与主要以大公司为代表的商业子系统之间的相对脱节。目前对有助于弥合创业地区知识和商业生态系统之间差距的潜在机制的理解仍然有限。研究世界上最古老的科技园区之一——美国北卡罗来纳州三角研究园的案例，我们探索区域生态系统的发展——它的要素、挑战和解决这些问题的机制。我们的研究结果揭示了关键要素，其中创业网络是最关键的要素之一，并解释了要素相互作用的困难。