Editorial: Advancing Innovation Ecosystem Research: Measurement Dynamics and Contextual Intelligence

This integrative editorial introduces the Special Issue (SI) on the evaluation of innovation ecosystem (IE) performance. While ecosystem perspectives have gained prominence across innovation, entrepreneurship, and strategy research, the systematic measurement of ecosystem performance remains theoretically fragmented and methodologically underdeveloped. Drawing on eleven SI articles, this editorial provides an integrative synthesis that advances understanding of how ecosystem performance can be conceptualised, operationalised, and evaluated across dynamic and contextual settings. We aim to identify cross-cutting patterns, unresolved challenges, and emerging research trajectories by synthesising the SI papers. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research aimed at fostering a richer conceptualization of innovation ecosystem performance.