<p>Innovation and entrepreneurship research are dominated by Western-originated theories, and these theories are often applied to non-Western regions such as East Asia without sufficient consideration of their fit with the local context. Therefore, there is a need to consider context explicitly and thoroughly when studying innovation and entrepreneurship in East Asia. In this paper, I review the influence of the cultural, institutional, economic, and political context on innovation and entrepreneurship in the three largest East Asian countries: China, Japan, and South Korea. All major types of activities in these two fields are strongly influenced by the four contextual dimensions. Based on this topical review, I propose ways for better integrating context into East Asian innovation and entrepreneurship studies. Finally, I identify various promising future directions for contextualized innovation and entrepreneurship research in East Asia.</p>