This paper investigates the factors that shape the resilience of entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) in the context of long-term structural and technological change. Drawing on a longitudinal dataset from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) for Switzerland (2003–2023), we examine how ecosystem diversity, coherence, and digitalization influence adaptive capacity in the face of external shocks. Building on recent literature, we conceptualize ecosystem resilience as the ability to sustain early-stage entrepreneurial activity over time, and explore whether digitalization contributes to resilience outcomes. We construct composite indexes for diversity, coherence, and digitalization, and estimate a series of linear regression models including interaction effects. Our results confirm that diversity has a significant positive impact on resilience, and that digitalization contributes independently and strongly to resilience as well. However, we find no significant interaction between diversity and coherence, suggesting that alignment and diversity do not always produce synergistic effects. Notably, we identify a negative and statistically significant interaction between coherence and digitalization, indicating that in ecosystems with high institutional alignment, the use of digital tools may be associated with reduced flexibility and adaptability. These findings contribute to the emerging body of research on entrepreneurial ecosystem resilience by introducing digital infrastructure as a dynamic moderating variable. The study also provides one of the few longitudinal assessments of ecosystem resilience in a European context, offering new insights into the interplay between diversity, institutional alignment, and technological capacity.
We discuss the implications for theory, highlighting the conditional nature of resilience mechanisms and the need to account for ecosystem maturity and saturation effects. For policymakers, the results suggest that coherence-building and digitalization strategies should not be treated as universally beneficial, especially in already well-structured ecosystems. Instead, interventions should aim to balance structure with openness, and stability with experimentation, in order to enhance long-term ecosystem resilience.