Based on empirical evidence and examples of business incubators from different regions, this study provides an overview of the growing importance of business incubators in entrepreneurial ecosystems as a structure for supporting innovation and economic development. Drawing on groundbreaking research, this paper aims to clarify such dynamics while examining their effects on entrepreneurial efforts, proposing a sophisticated analysis of the impact of new technological and organizational trends on the role of business incubators. The study examines business incubators as support systems within entrepre ecosystems, highlighting their evolution, important success factors and emerging trends. A mixed methods approach was used, combining a systematic literature review with comparative analysis of case studies to identify key themes. This research draws on empirical evidence and case studies from different geographical contexts, integrating qualitative and quantitative data from academic literature and practical sources over the last decade. The study identifies strategic management, ecosystem integration and adaptability to technological advances as important factors for incubation success. It reveals that sectoral and corporate incubators are playing an increasingly important role in shaping entrepreneurial ecosystems, it also advances understanding of the evolving role of business incubators and their integration into entrepreneurial ecosystems, offering insights for optimizing their impact.

This paper explains the key role of business incubators in advancing energy management initiatives in entrepreneurial ecosystems. It indicates that by providing basic resources, mentoring and networking opportunities, incubators empower startups to develop innovative solutions that improve energy efficiency and sustainability, and thus receive support that facilitates the creation of new business models and technologies that address pressing energy challenges. Through collaborative efforts, incubators foster partnerships among entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts, fostering the growth of sustainable practices. Ultimately, business incubators serve as vital catalysts for promoting efficient energy management strategies, contributing to a greener and more resilient economy.

This paper presents a network model that maps the multi-layered structure of regional entrepreneurial ecosystems in Serbia. Moving beyond factor-based analysis, they model how institutional, economic, technological and social dimensions operate as interdependent layers within a dynamic system. Empirical analysis in four regions, Vojvodina, Belgrade, Central Serbia and South Serbia, reveals that economic resources and social capital are the main drivers, shaping the institutional framework and technological infrastructure, which then act as key structural drivers. The results confirm pronounced spatial dependencies, whereby South Serbia shows significantly less developed network connectivity in all layers compared to more advanced regions. The proposed graphical model visualises these ecosystems as complex, multi-layered networks where systemic interactions between factors determine regional innovative capacity and entrepreneurial activity. The research contributes a contextualised framework for diagnosing ecosystem strengths and vulnerabilities, offering policymakers and stakeholders a practical tool for designing targeted, regionally specific interventions to foster entrepreneurship and sustainable economic development.

Although the literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems recognizes institutional, economic, technological, and social factors, integrated empirical tests of their interrelationships at the regional level remain limited, particularly in transition economies. This paper analyzes a structural-mechanism model of regional entrepreneurial ecosystems in Serbia using survey data from 401 enterprises in four regions. The study applies partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to assess the measurement model, structural pathways, indirect effects, and predictive relevance of the proposed model. Additional regional comparisons and official regional GDP indicators are used to contextualize the survey-based findings. The results support the reliability and convergent validity of the reflective constructs. The structural model indicates that economic and social factors are associated with institutional and technological conditions, while institutional, technological, and social factors are associated with innovation development, new product and service development, innovation capacity, entrepreneurial activity, and entrepreneurial motivation. The indirect effects further support the proposed mechanism logic, especially through institutional and technological pathways. Regional comparisons show significant differences across the observed regions, with Southern Serbia recording less favorable perceived ecosystem conditions. The findings suggest that regional entrepreneurial ecosystems should be analyzed as context-dependent systems in which structural conditions and operating mechanisms are connected, but the cross-sectional and perception-based design does not allow definitive causal conclusions.