Disruption: The Fourth Industrial Revolution accelerator and entrepreneurial ecosystems

• Author: Mary B. Teagarden
• Published date: 01 September 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/tie.22168
• Date: 01 September 2020

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Disruption: The Fourth Industrial Revolution accelerator and

entrepreneurial ecosystems

The year 2020 will be remembered as the year of disruption—for busi-

ness, for academia, for institutions, and for society. Disruption has

accelerated the speed and enthusiasm with which businesses have

grasped Fourth Industrial Revolution (4th IR) solutions to challenges.

Consider business model changes: the movement from retail shopping

to delivery, or visits to family doctors to telemedicine are great exam-

ples. Academia is struggling with ways to keep students, faculty, and

staff safe from the ravages of COVID-19 by switching to remote

learning or dramatically changing the classroom layout to encourage

social distancing. Institutions are being challenged and changing time-

honored practices. In many locations around the world bars and res-

taurants are being closed to forestall the spread of disease. There are

shortages of appropriate healthcare equipment and medicines. Many

of us walk around in need of haircuts, or hide under hats, during our

never-ending Zoom calls. More importantly, things like voting in per-

son are being challenged or replaced with mail-in ballots. There is

social unrest around the world—disrupting communities, cities, and

even countries. In this era of disruption, there are glimmers of hope,

mostly coming from the entrepreneurs around the world who offer

new solutions, many grounded in 4th IR technologies or thinking.

This special issue on Entrepreneurial Ecosystems focuses on the

ecosystem (context) and manner in which entrepreneurs work their

magic. We owe our guest editor, Vanessa Rattan, a sincere debt of

gratitude for curating this forward-looking special issue that ele-

vates our focus from the individual to the ecosystem where innova-

tion, creativity and value creation occur. Each of the authors who

contributed to the 12 articles in this issue deserve thanks as well.

You have all contributed to a potentially very impactful Special

Issue. Thank you!

Mary B. Teagarden, Editor

Global Management, Thunderbird School of Global Management,

Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona

Email: mary.teagarden@thunderbird.asu.edu

DOI: 10.1002/tie.22168

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