Anchoring during a storm: unveiling the role of Anchor institutions in place-based public service ecosystems during disruption

This article investigates the role of an Anchor Institution (Anchor) within a place-based public service ecosystem (PSE) during disruption. Specifically, it examines how Anchors shape the conditions under which actors can participate in value creation. Drawing on a qualitative single-case study of the University of Siena, an Anchor embedded in a city-campus where students, services, and territorial actors are closely intertwined, we show how disruption activates the Anchor’s multi-level role unevenly. While some actors are enabled to participate and mobilize resources for value creation, others are constrained from doing so. Crucially, we also theorize a new relational mechanism, which we term ‘reverse anchoring’. This mechanism captures how other PSE actors mobilize resources (e.g. venues) to support the restoration of the Anchor’s multi-level role. In doing so, the article offers a novel account of PSE robustness, showing that it also arises from the involvement of peripheral PSE actors.