Entrepreneurial and Innovation Ecosystems (EEs and IEs) are among the most influential frameworks for understanding how regional, organizational, and institutional contexts foster innovation and economic development (Autio et al., 2014; Adner, 2017). Although conceptually related, EEs and IEs have often evolved as distinct analytical lenses, with a number of contributions focusing on delineating their boundaries and divergences (e.g., Cobben et al., 2022; Valkokari, 2015). EEs are commonly associated with regional entrepreneurship dynamics and networked start-up activity (Acs et al., 2017, Ancona et al., 2023), whereas IEs focus on interdependent value creation and technological innovation processes (Adner & Kapoor, 2010).

However, in practice, these ecosystems rarely function independently. They frequently operate as nested systems, embedded within overlapping institutional and governance architectures. For instance, regional EEs may provide the enabling context within which IEs emerge, evolve, and scale. In turn, the orchestration of IEs can significantly influence regional capability building, talent attraction, and the development of innovation infrastructures, thereby shaping the trajectory and competitiveness of the encompassing EE.

This track aims to bring together scholars exploring the interconnections, complementarities, and tensions between EEs and IEs. We particularly encourage studies that bridge conceptual and empirical insights from entrepreneurship, innovation, regional studies, and management research. Nested ecosystem relationships raise fundamental questions about the multi-level governance, directionality, and co-evolutionary dynamics that underpin complex innovation systems.

We welcome contributions that address, among others, the following themes:

• Institutional complementarities and configurations: How do overlapping institutional arrangements enable or constrain the emergence and performance of IEs within EEs? What forms of institutional alignment or misfit shape their outcomes?
• Orchestration across formal and informal settings: How can IE orchestrators operate effectively within entrepreneurial environments characterized by informal norms, trust-based coordination, and bottom-up governance?
• Transitions and temporal dynamics: How do nested ecosystems evolve over time? What mechanisms explain shifts from entrepreneurial to innovation-driven logics (or vice versa) across ecosystem life cycles?
• Transnational-local tensions: How do globally oriented IEs interact with territorially grounded EEs? What tensions arise around policy alignment, resource allocation, and accountability?
• Policy fragmentation and connectivity: How can policymakers avoid siloed interventions and foster systemic coordination across EEs and IEs through shared infrastructures, funding schemes, and governance models?
• Measuring impact and performance across nested ecosystems: How can researchers and policymakers assess the outcomes of interconnected EEs and IEs at multiple levels - organizational, ecosystemic, and regional? What metrics, indicators, or frameworks can capture technological interdependencies, relational value creation, and broader societal impact?

By integrating multi-level, institutional, and relational perspectives, this track seeks to advance theory and practice on how nested ecosystems emerge, interact, and co-evolve. We particularly welcome cross-country comparisons, longitudinal studies, configurational approaches, and policy-oriented analyses that illuminate how ecosystem interdependencies influence innovation outcomes and regional transformation.

Ultimately, the track aims to build a foundation for a shared research agenda that deepens understanding of nested ecosystem architectures and their implications for orchestrating innovation, fostering entrepreneurship, and enabling sustainable competitiveness.