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This paper explores the extent in which public and private sector collaboration to set up a digital business ecosystem shapes the way digital entrepreneurs frame their roles. The study focuses on the case study of digital entrepreneurship in Bahrain, and particularly on the interactions that take place between public sector actors, private sector teams and digital entrepreneurs in Bahrain. Over the past few years, there have been significant investments made to support startups in Bahrain through the enrolment of a network of actors in the digital business ecosystem. The current changes in policies and institutional structures are part of an ongoing effort to create job opportunities and spur economic growth, mainly in response to the changing economic climate in the region. We employ the concept of institutional pillars to explore the various institutional sources that are drawn upon by actors and how these have come to shape the entrepreneurial trend, which is evident in the views and practices of the digital entrepreneurs. We argue that the sociocultural narratives and interactions have come to reframe entrepreneurship in a way that has encouraged many to endeavour setting up a digital business with prospects of scaling globally. © 2019 Association for Computing Machinery.
