New venture creation and development is regarded as a challenging process, where the formation of a legal entity is considered as an important milestone. This study addresses the need to advance the current understanding of the role of various stakeholders in the post-formation stage in the process of a new venture development in the health care sector, which is characterised by complex regulations, political sensitivity, a great number and variety of intricately interconnected stakeholders. Relying on a longitudinal single case study design, this work has examined the development of a new venture, offering innovative digital solutions for the health care in Sweden, since its formal establishment for five years.

The findings suggest that a new venture post-formation development is a stage process, where venturing activities in each stage are scaffolded by a certain configuration of stakeholders with a prevalence and higher relative influence of stakeholders of a certain type.

The results explain the dynamics of stakeholder engagement during the post-formation development, where the focus shifts from one group of external stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem (entrepreneurship supporting organisations) and health care sector, to academia and, later, to two specific groups of external stakeholders (customers and investors) and internal stakeholders (employees). Further, the findings emphasize the vital role of academia for a new venture successful moving through the post-formation stage despite all challenges associated with the health care sector.