In the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, which is mainly composed of various large enterprises, start-ups, universities, scientific research institutes, intermediaries and users, species enterprises, and population industries form various ecological communities in a variety of operation modes. The CVC ecological community formed by the large enterprise population and entrepreneurial enterprise population studied in this paper forms a complex system of competition, cooperation, and symbiosis in the main body interaction. This system ensures the orderly operation of the ecological community and the coevolution of species through the value cocreation mechanism, which improves the innovation efficiency of the whole ecological community.

CVC offers enterprises or industries an opportunity for real growth and is most suitable for helping long-term and bottom-level source innovation, addressing the financing problems of small and medium-sized science and technology enterprises, promoting overall innovation in start-ups, and contributing to innovation performance (Alvarez-Garrido& Dushnitsky, 2016). Innovation, initiative, and risk bearing are the characteristics of start-ups (Mille, 1983), and start-ups often face the risk of early failure and generate new liabilities. CVC is the key support for their innovation activities, which impact the innovation performance of start-ups. From the perspective of signal theory, CVC also has an endorsement effect on start-ups (Di Lorenzo& van de Vrande, 2019), which helps to improve their market recognition and ability to obtain other types of future investment. The reputation, brand effect, and business status of the start-up enterprises that accept CVC in the market will also be improved.

First, the term of CVC funds is longer. Since large enterprises directly provide funds for CVC, investment is not restricted by the contract between limited partners and general partners. Start-ups can obtain financial support from large enterprises through multiple rounds and stages. The core strategic goal for large enterprises to carry out CVC activities is technological innovation. The high failure tolerance of CVC is the best incentive for start-ups to focus on innovation. A CVC's long fund cycle can ensure that start-ups have enough time to carry out long-term innovative R&D. The compensation of the investment team is not sensitive to the performance and innovation achievements of the start-up companies. The financial return of venture capital is not the first goal. Therefore, newly established start-ups with high risks but involving cutting-edge high-end technology or in highly competitive industries will have more opportunities to obtain CVC financing and sustainability.

Second, the operation of CVC will provide more value-added services to invested start-ups. CVC can promote the development of start-ups that need special complementary assets (Park& Steensma, 2012). Entrepreneurial enterprises often lack the necessary resources and expertise to commercialize their innovative achievements. Cooperation with existing large enterprises provides a way for new enterprises to obtain complementary resources, increase their chance of survival, and improve the probability of market success. CVC is usually the first relationship between start-ups and existing enterprises in the industry. Before the investment funds of large enterprises are made available, due diligence activities related to business plans, technical resources, innovative products, and market prospects also provide start-ups with a unique opportunity to learn about large enterprises. Large enterprises have certain advantages in the professional knowledge, technical mode, and development characteristics of related fields. Their original social networks and proprietary assets, such as excellent and efficient investment teams, have rich experience in specific industries and have a deeper understanding of related technologies than ordinary investors. With its rich professional management and operation experience, it guides start-ups to carry out innovation activities. The business system integrating “R&D, production, sales, service” and other core links is a resource that entrepreneurial enterprises can borrow. CVC has advantages in industry integration and operation management. The relationship capital and investment capital held by large enterprises are also very attractive sources of innovation to start-ups. Start-ups can take advantage of manufacturing plants, distribution channels, core technologies, brand effects, and other resources of large enterprises through CVC (Kim et al., 2019).

Third, when the strategies of large enterprises and start-ups align, large enterprises can not only provide financial support for start-ups but also provide technical support and industry experience based on their own advantages and invest in higher risk and more promising projects, which further improves the innovation ability of start-ups (Chen& Liang, 2016; Liu et al., 2022; Yang et al., 2020; Li et al., 2023b). Through CVC investment, start-ups can also open innovation windows and learn from the experience and resources of large enterprises. Under low investment complexity, start-ups will jointly develop a new knowledge base with large enterprises to supplement their limited capabilities with their technical expertise and knowledge to obtain innovation performance. The source of innovation not only exists within start-up companies but also usually exists in the cooperation between start-ups and large enterprises (Powell et al., 1996). The professional experience and skills generated by the unique social interaction of new start-ups are more likely to bring innovation advantages. Startups seek more alliance experience and investment intensity to provide the required innovation (Ahuja, 2000).

CVC is based on the strategic and technical similarities between large enterprises and start-ups that result in a certain degree of technical fit which form a state of mutual matching and complementary synergy that is conducive to fostering innovation. There is complementarity between large enterprises and start-ups, and the higher the complementarity is, the greater the degree of social interaction. Social interaction further drives the knowledge transfer and acquisition of large enterprises and start-ups (Maula et al., 2009). Large enterprises increase their involvement in start-ups through capital investment and enhance their social interaction with start-ups. In start-ups, the board of directors and the board of supervisors, as well as the relevant managers and technicians, comprehensively supervise start-ups and help them solve technical problems, which then improves their technological innovation performance of start-ups (Ivanov & Xie, 2010). The complementarity of assets, knowledge, technology, and other key resources between large enterprises and start-ups provides the basis for the coordinated development of both sides. In practice, the venture capital industry has gathered CVC, independent venture capital (IVC), and government venture capital (GVC) to invest in start-ups by stages and industries, forming a collaborative relationship and interaction in the whole venture capital. CVC enables large enterprises and start-ups to form synergy and gradually evolve into an orderly organizational ecological community in the innovation ecosystem through two-way selection (Schöll, 2012; Reddy et al., 2011), thus building their own niche with greater advantages and improving the competitiveness of the whole population or community.

CVC integrates economic management and financial thinking while considering the financial objectives of cost minimization and profit maximization and the balance between risk and future income. Large enterprises and start-ups are regarded as two innovation groups in the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem with complex intragroup and intergroup relationships between them. A symbiotic evolution system is formed through a dynamic game. Under the partner selection mechanism, trust and communication mechanism, resource convergence mechanism, value exchange mechanism, balance adjustment mechanism, risk control mechanism, benefit distribution mechanism and incentive mechanism, the two sides adopt a “positive sum game.” Open collaboration and resource sharing realize value-added and carry out collaborative development and symbiotic evolution.

Symbiosis theory has been continuously applied in the economic circle. Symbiosis is an intimate lifestyle among biological populations, which means that two species improve their viability and profitability through cooperation between subjects, achieve harmonious interaction with the ecosystem environment, and form a symbiotic body by sharing similar resources or complementing different resources (Miller, 2015). This paper assumes that there is no confrontation or conflict between large enterprises and start-ups in the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. As two core symbiotic groups, large enterprises will neither “squeeze” the innovation space of start-ups nor “drag down” the innovation and development of start-ups. Instead, they will promote the development of start-ups, encourage each other, deepen internal relations, and achieve symbiosis and win‒win outcomes. The symbiotic system of the CVC ecological community includes three basic elements: (1) symbiotic unit, (2) symbiotic mode, and (3) symbiotic environment.

The symbiotic environment of venture capital consists of the macroeconomic, scientific and technological, legal and policy, humanistic and social, financial market, and talent environments. First, the development of CVC is closely tied to the macroeconomic environment and the business cycle, which are the external conditions for the coevolution of large enterprises and start-ups. Second, the legal and policy environment have a crucial impact on the development of CVC, especially the improvement of venture capital-related policies that can promote the effective demand and supply of various types of venture capital; it can improve the efficiency of venture capital; and policy stability and innovation guidance will actively promote the development of CVC. Meanwhile, market access, fiscal policy, preferential tax policy, and risk guarantee policy are closely related to the development of CVC. The design, implementation, and coordination of policies are the necessary conditions for the coevolution of innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems. Third, in the environment of innovation and entrepreneurship, an active and open innovation culture, trusting relationship, and entrepreneurship also play an important supporting role. In addition, CVC is an active financial force. The perfection of the financial capital market environment is the key to the sustainability of the symbiotic relationship. CVC realizes capital circulation through fundraising, operation, and withdrawal. A multilevel and sound capital market can guarantee the operation of CVC at all stages. At the same time, the first element of the harmonious evolution of the CVC ecological community is talent, including innovative talent, entrepreneurial talent, entrepreneurs, and investment experts. First, scientific research and technological development need a steady stream of talent. These talents should have rich knowledge in the financial field, good morals, keen industry insight, and enterprise management ability. Second, the intellectual resource environment composed of the innovation ability and professional technical ability of the core cutting-edge technical talents of start-ups is also an important part of the symbiotic environment.

According to ecosystem theory, the large enterprise population and entrepreneurial enterprise population in the CVC ecological community form a two-dimensional symbiosis, which is similar to the biological community in structure and nature and has common characteristics in terms of constituent elements, structure, and function. The operating mechanism of the CVC ecological community includes opening and sharing, learning and feedback, and diffusion and absorption. There are complex relationships among the large enterprise population, entrepreneurial enterprise population, and other populations in the CVC ecological community, such as the material cycle, capital cycle, and energy cycle. The CVC ecological community has a certain composition and nutritional structure. The main characteristics of the CVC ecological community include diversity, openness, dynamism, and systematic evolution.

First, as a part of the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, the CVC ecological community has a large number of interacting populations or species of different levels and types, including listed or unlisted mature large enterprises. It also includes small and medium-sized innovation and entrepreneurship enterprises in various industries at different stages of development, intermediary organizations in venture capital activities, relevant government departments and stakeholders. The CVC ecological community also has a variety of relationships, including research and development, technology transfer, and technology application in the vertical technology value chain, as well as horizontal technology consulting, evaluation, and service. There is both competition and cooperation between large enterprises and start-ups.

Second, the CVC ecological community, which mainly refers to the formation of an innovation network through CVC and the interconnection and opening of large enterprises, start-ups, and CVC projects, is an open system. The exchange of material, information, and energy among the subjects and the introduction of capital resources, intellectual resources, and information resources of the ecological community have improved the benefits of the entire CVC ecological community. The metabolism of various groups in the process of structural renewal, organizational adaptation, and elimination ensures the upgrading and vitality of the CVC ecological community.

Third, the whole CVC ecological community is also constantly changing. According to changes in the environment, the flow of resources from the external environment and the internal entities of the system has formed the transmission, transformation, and value-added of technology and value, and innovative technologies continuously adapt. In the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, to obtain more resources and occupy a better living space, the CVC ecological community will also constantly adjust, separate, or expand its niche, and achieve cooperation or competition, which will promote the continuous value creation of large enterprise groups and entrepreneurial enterprise groups. To maintain the vitality of the CVC community, the CVC ecological community will undergo a spiral coordinated evolution from disorder to order and from low-level to high-level.

The innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem are composed of different types of innovation populations and innovation ecological communities. Different innovation populations have different competitiveness and reproductive capacity. They achieve dynamic balance through mutual coevolution. When the environmental capacity of external resources changes, the large enterprise population and entrepreneurial enterprise population in the CVC ecological community will compete for limited resources. Tilman (1997) combines the Levins metapopulation model (Levins,1969) and Hanski's two species metapopulation model (Hanski, 1994) and proposes that the change in external environmental factors makes the large enterprises and entrepreneurial enterprises in the CVC ecological community co-evolved according to the multiple population metapopulation dynamics model in biology. It is assumed that there are n innovative populations in the CVC ecological community. When multiple population sets reach equilibrium, the resources occupying the ecosystem will change and form a new ecological order, as shown in Formula (1):

When the number of populations in the innovation ecosystem tends to be infinite, the stable value of the proportion of niche resources occupied by the metapopulation when it reaches equilibrium is S^i, that is, the ecological order in the ecosystem, which represents the size of the innovation resource space occupied by each innovation population in the ecosystem due to its strong or weak competitiveness and can be sorted according to the value.

When there is no change in the external innovation ecological resources, {S^i} is the proportional series of the stable value of the proportion, and the series S^i=q(1−q)i−1 shows the sorting law from large to small,qrepresenting the proportion of the innovation population with the strongest competitiveness in the CVC ecological community of the innovation ecosystem to the resources in the system.

According to Tilman's hypothesis, the emigration rate and mortality rate of each species are equal, and is set θi=θas a constant. At that time dSidt=0, a series with equal diffusivity can be obtained. Among them, ci=θ/(1−q)2i−1 shows the sorting rule from small to large. At this time, the metapopulation in the CVC ecological community in the innovation ecosystem tends to be stable, and each innovation population realizes collaborative symbiosis and evolution. At this time, the niche resources occupied by the innovation population in the system are as follows:

At that time S^i≥0, Sie=S^i=1−A−θici−∑j=1iS^i(1+cjci); At that time S^i≤0, When A value is large, A≥1−θiri , Sie=0.

Assuming the evolution time T=100 and the number of population types in the CVC ecological community n=4, the ecological order of S1,S2S3, and S4 is arranged from large to small, and the proportion of niche resources occupied by each innovative population shows a geometric distribution. Assuming the initial value of niche Si(0)=0.1, the mortality of the innovative population θi=0.193, and the niche of the strongest innovative population q=0.25. When the ecological environment does not change, the evolution track of niche resources of each innovative population is shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1.

Niche evolution simulation of the innovation population without the influence of the external environment.

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When the external innovation ecological environment changes, it will have a favorable or unfavorable impact on the development of the CVC ecological community. Therefore, changes in the ecological environment reduce the capacity of available niche resources, including market demand, technical talent, and innovative industries. When the value of A is different, that is, A=0.04, A=0.4, and A=0.8, the simulation graph is shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4.

Fig. 2.

Niche evolution simulation of innovative population in adverse environment (A=0.04).

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Fig. 3.

Niche evolution simulation of innovative population under adverse environment (A=0.4).

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Fig. 4.

Niche evolution simulation of innovative population under adverse environment (A=0.8).

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It can be seen from the simulation diagram that when the innovation ecosystem environment is not conducive to the development of the CVC ecological community, the total amount of niche resources available will decrease. Thus, competition for resources in the system will be intensified by the innovation population, and the competition for niche resources of the large enterprise population, entrepreneurial enterprise population, incubator population, and industrial fund investment population will change. On the one hand, the competition will become more intense. On the other hand, the innovative population will explore new markets or look for alternative and complementary resources to maintain the competitiveness of the population to maintain its ecological order and innovation niche in the original ecosystem. Here, the interaction between populations is dynamic and nonlinear. The evolution process among innovation groups will fluctuate, but after a series of fierce competitions, it will enter a new stage of relatively stable development and form a new ecological balance.

With the increasing occupancy of the A resource space, the total niche space of each large enterprise population and entrepreneurial enterprise population in the CVC ecological community will decrease. When the resource space of an innovation ecosystem is large enough to exceed a certain threshold, other populations will be affected by changes in environmental resources, and the resource space of system innovation will be forced to shrink, which will further affect the scale and competitiveness of innovation populations. From the above simulation of spatial changes in resources, it can be concluded that when external environmental resources change adversely, the most competitive innovation group will be the most negatively affected. The main reason is that strong competitiveness must be supported by relatively rich talent, capital, technology, and mechanisms and since demand for these core resources is also large, and it may be difficult to quickly find alternative resources, transformation costs may be higher. Therefore, this kind of innovative population will face more severe difficulties and even rapidly evolve in the direction of decline.

When the value of A changes and develops in a favorable direction, the resource space in the ecological environment has increased. For example, when A=-0.35, the simulation is shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5.

Simulation of niche evolution of the innovative population in favor of the external environment (A=-0.35).

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When the whole ecological environment develops in a favorable direction, the overall niche space will expand, and the innovative population will compete for new niche space through competition. Due to the different sensitivities and competitiveness of the innovative population to new resources, after a period of competitive evolution, it will gradually enter a period of stable development.

In the innovation ecosystem, the growth of new industries is a process of invasion of innovation groups, which is limited by the internal effects of the innovation system, the relationship between innovation groups and the external environment of innovation. When an alien innovative species invades and the species in the system compete and coexist, the living space occupied by each species in the original CVC ecological community will be affected, so a series of adjustments will be made to form a new ecological order. The cooperative evolution and development mechanism and law of populations in the CVC ecological community are analyzed. Assuming that the alien innovative species jumps into the ecological sequence of the original system population, it has a certain comparative competitive advantage and can realize the competitive symbiosis of multiple populations, which will cause the ecological sequence number of all populations to decrease in turn.

If the external innovation population is set to enter the innovation ecosystem, it will be ranked ahead of the innovation population K in the form of strong queue jumping, forming a new ecological order in Formula (2):

When the alien innovative population invades the original innovation system, the ecological order increases to n+1. Since the total number of niche resources that can be utilized by the population in the ecological community remains unchanged, Formula (3) is as follows:

In the above formula, Si• is the stable value of the proportion of niche resources of the population after the new innovation population enters, and the innovation ecosystem is adjusted; S^i indicates the stable value of the niche resource space share of each innovative population after the new species group enters.

Because ∑i=1n+1Si•=1−(1−q2)n+1,∑i=1nS^i=1−(1−q1)n,q2=1−(1−q1)nn+1,q1 is the stable value of the niche resource proportion of the strongest innovation population in the CVC ecological community of the innovation ecosystem before the integration of the external innovation population; q2 represents the stable value of the niche resource proportion of the strongest innovation population in the community after the integration of the external innovation population.

When A=0, we select the symbiosis dynamic balance model of four types of innovative population coexistence and the CVC ecological community, as shown in Formula (4):

In this balanced CVC ecological community, new innovation populations are moved from other regions and industries S3e. Due to strong competitiveness, the new CVC ecological community coevolution model is shown in Formula (5):

In the above Model (5), the third population of the newly integrated population in the original innovation ecosystem S3is changed intoS4, and the ecological order of other populations is changed by analogy. Capital, technology, resources, talent, markets and other ecological resources are all contested, and the original ecological order is impacted. Through the competition of various innovation populations, a new ecological order will be gradually formed.

In Formula (5), Seis the stability of the proportion of niche resources occupied by the foreign innovative population in the CVC ecological community after they jump queues to compete and integrate. Assuming that the number of innovative populations in the CVC ecological community is four, the initial values of the proportion of each innovative population to niche resources are S1(0) = 0.16, S2(0) = 0.12, S3(0) = 0.08, S4(0) = 0.007 and mortalityθi = 0.15. The initial niche value of the newly integrated populationSe =0.11. Assuming that q=0.25 means that the competitiveness difference of innovative populations in the original ecosystem is small. When q=0.65, the competitiveness difference of innovative populations in the original ecosystem becomes larger. The evolution trajectory of the CVC ecological community after the invasion of new foreign species in two cases is simulated, and the simulation is shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

Fig. 6.

Evolutionary simulation of alien innovation population through queue jumping (q=0.25).

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Fig. 7.

Evolutionary simulation of alien innovation population through queue jumping (q=0.65).

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When there is an innovative population that invades by queue jumping in the system, it shows that it has experienced the adaptation of the initial innovation environment and population reproduction, and the number of individual species has also reached a certain scale. The rapid growth ability, strong environmental adaptability, and competitiveness of new populations enable them to quickly find their own niche, integrate resources, survive, and grow in the innovation ecosystem and reach a stable state. When a new innovative population enters the innovative ecological community by jumping in line, its niche competition ability is strong, and its ecological order is higher. When q1is small, the competitiveness difference between the innovation populations in the original system is also small. Regardless of where the innovation populations integrated into the system are, the innovation populations behind the row will be less affected. Moreover, the newly moved innovation populations can also enrich the ecological diversity of the original system, and the change law of the ecological order of the newly formed populations will evolve in a complex direction. However, when the competitiveness of the original populations is quite different, the new species will greatly affect the niche resources obtained by the original populations, and the proportion stability of these less competitive innovative populations in the niche resources space of the whole system will also be reduced.

Assuming that the new species are integrated into the CVC ecological community to focus on the competition for a specific industry or resource, compete with a population in the original ecological community and coexist in the system, the evolution model is shown in Formula (6):

In the above formula, Se indicates the stability of the proportion of niche resources occupied by the new species after entering the system. When the competitive advantage of the newly entered population is not strong, it will have a nonlinear effect with other innovative populations in the system through allelic mode and finally reach a new stable state. At dSidt=dSedt=0, the stable values of niche resources occupied by new species and original populations are shown in Formula (7) and Formula (8):

Assuming that the number of innovative populations in the CVC ecological community is 4, the initial values of the proportion of each innovative population to niche resources are S1(0) = 0.16, S2(0) = 0.12, S3(0) = 0.08, S4(0) = 0.007 and mortalityθi = 0.15. Initial niche value of newly integrated populationSe=0.11. Assuming q=0.25, there is little difference in the competitiveness of innovative populations in the original ecosystem. When q=0.65, the competitiveness difference of the original ecosystem innovation population becomes larger, the evolution trajectory of the CVC ecological community after the invasion of foreign new species in two cases is simulated, and the simulation is shown in Figs. 8 and 9.

Fig. 8.

Evolutionary simulation of alien innovation population through allelic concurrence (q=0.25).

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Fig. 9.

Evolutionary simulation of alien innovation population through allelic form (q=0.65).

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The impact of the newly integrated innovative population on the niche resources of the original population depends on the competitiveness difference between the original populations. When the competition difference between the populations in the system is smaller, the impact of the new species on the innovative population in the original system is also smaller. When the competitiveness of the original new species varies greatly, the newly settled innovative species will form greater competitive pressure with other species.