“Designing Support Organizations for Early‑Stage Entrepreneurship”
DETAILS
Call for Papers – Special Issue: “Designing Support Organizations for Early‑Stage Entrepreneurship”
Journal: Journal of Business Venturing Design
Publisher: Elsevier
Submission deadline: 31 October 2026
Overview
This special issue focuses on how entrepreneurial support organizations (ESOs)—such as incubators, accelerators, and venture studios—are designed, structured, and organised to support early‑stage entrepreneurship. ESOs have become central actors in contemporary entrepreneurial ecosystems, helping founders navigate technological complexity, market uncertainty, and rapid change.
The issue invites conceptual and empirical studies, especially those using design‑science approaches, that explore how ESOs can be intentionally designed and improved to better serve nascent ventures and broader ecosystems.
Core Themes
1. ESO models and design characteristics
Comparative analyses of different ESO models: public vs. private, corporate vs. independent, incubators vs. accelerators vs. venture studios.
Identification of key design features (e.g., selection criteria, program structure, mentorship formats, governance, funding models, resource configurations) that shape performance and impact.
2. ESOs as ecosystem actors
How ESOs function as infrastructure and orchestrators within entrepreneurial ecosystems.
How ESOs connect startups to investors, universities, corporates, and policy actors, and how this role affects venture creation and growth.
3. Internalising entrepreneurial agency and scaling venture design
How ESOs internalise entrepreneurial agency rather than only providing generic support.
Tools and processes for designing and managing ventures at scale, such as repeatable venture‑creation workflows, venture‑assessment frameworks, and lean‑design protocols.
4. Alignment with systemic ecosystem challenges
How ESO designs respond to broader systemic challenges (e.g., sustainability, inclusion, regional development, digital transformation).
Analyses of how ESO configurations differ across geographic, institutional, and sectoral contexts.
5. Orchestration of resources and ecosystems
ESO designs that orchestrate resources (financial, human, knowledge, symbolic) across ecosystems.
Studies on how ESOs facilitate co‑creation, collaboration, and networked venture development.
6. Design‑science contributions and new tools
Design‑science papers that create and test artifacts (frameworks, tools, program architectures, digital platforms) to support ESOs and the ventures they serve.
Evaluations of how such tools affect decision‑making, learning, and venture outcomes in real‑world settings.
Submission Details
Submission window: 15 September – 31 October 2026.
Submission platform: Journal of Business Venturing Design Editorial Manager:
https://www.editorialmanager.com/jbvd/Default.aspxWhen submitting, select article type: “VSI: Support Organizations for Early‑Stage Entrepreneurship”.
Follow the journal’s Guide for Authors:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-business-venturing-design/publish/guide-for-authorsSubmissions may be conceptual, empirical, or design‑science papers.
All suitable manuscripts will undergo peer review by at least two independent reviewers.
Articles are published in the journal’s regular issues but are clearly branded as part of the Special Issue on the journal’s website.
Authors may submit early versions of their work to the EURAM 2026 topic “Early‑stage entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial support organizations” for developmental feedback, but this is not a requirement for submission to the special issue.
Guest Editors
Georges Romme, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands
Sujith Nair, BI Norwegian Business School, Norway
Henrik Berglund (supervising co‑editor), Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
For questions about topic fit, contact Henrik Berglund at henber@chalmers.se.
Why This Issue Matters
ESOs are increasingly central to venture creation and ecosystem resilience, yet their design principles and performance mechanisms are still under‑theorised.
By focusing on design choices, orchestration, and systemic alignment, this special issue aims to help scholars and practitioners build more effective, intentional, and impactful support infrastructures for early‑stage entrepreneurship.
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