Summary

This PhD project examines how subcultural dynamics and entrepreneurial ecosystems mutually shape one another, using the worlds of techno music and tech startups as its empirical setting. Both worlds co-exist in the same urban contexts, draw on overlapping networks of people and ideas, and face similar tensions between authenticity, growth, and commercialization. Yet the mechanisms through which subcultures influence entrepreneurial activity, and through which entrepreneurial and platform logics feed back into subcultural life, remain poorly understood.

The project addresses this gap by developing an integrated understanding of how subcultural norms, identities, and practices translate into entrepreneurial action, and how market-oriented innovation ecosystems in turn reshape the artistic and communal dimensions of subcultural life. Empirically, the project draws on both techno music scenes and tech startup ecosystems, combining quantitative, experimental, and longitudinal methods. The findings aim to contribute to entrepreneurship and innovation theory, while also offering practically relevant insights for policymakers, ecosystem builders, and actors working at the intersection of culture and urban innovation.