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Digital Entrepreneurship and its Role in Innovation Systems: A Systematic Literature Review as a Basis for Future Research Avenues for Sustainable Transitions

Author

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  • Liliya Satalkina

    (Department for Knowledge and Communication Management, Danube University Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria)

  • Gerald Steiner

    (Department for Knowledge and Communication Management, Danube University Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria
    Complexity Science Hub Vienna, 1080 Vienna, Austria)

Abstract

Digital entrepreneurship is an essential driver within the innovation system. It changes the structure, aims, and networking mechanisms of the overall business system and, ultimately, affects the various levels and dimensions of the innovation system. Bringing inevitable changes to the innovation system, digital technologies may not only provide new business opportunities but also be disruptive and cause new vulnerabilities. In order to gain a rigorous understanding of the hybrid concept of digital entrepreneurship and its role within the transformation of the innovation system, we conducted a systematic literature review. The results of 52 core papers allow for the identification of key categories of digital entrepreneurship and also its differentiation from other types of business activities. The analysis leads to the distinction of the determinants of digital entrepreneurship within three core dimensions of the innovation system, which encompass the entrepreneur (including, e.g., behavioral, competence. and mentality patterns, as well as personal outcomes and consequences of entrepreneurial activity), the entrepreneurial process (including activities that concern digitalization in organizational management processes, transformations within strategic and operational activities, and digital start-up establishment), and its relevant ecosystem (which encompasses, among others, the influence that external infrastructure and institutions have on digital entrepreneurship development). The systematization of the existing literature is highly relevant for future research that aims to understand the interrelations between the transformation of entrepreneurial structures within innovation systems as well as the socioeconomic system in general. Such understanding requires further extended research in fields related to method, content, and theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Liliya Satalkina & Gerald Steiner, 2020. "Digital Entrepreneurship and its Role in Innovation Systems: A Systematic Literature Review as a Basis for Future Research Avenues for Sustainable Transitions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-27, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:7:p:2764-:d:339767
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    7. Reem Al Sharif & Shaligram Pokharel & Mohamed Arselene Ayari & Marwa Essam & Salwa Aqeel, 2022. "Enabling Open Innovation in Digital Startups through the Incubation Program—A Case of Qatar," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-17, May.
    8. Jhon Wilder Zartha Sossa & Juan Fernando Gaviria Suárez & Natalia María López Suárez & José Luis Solleiro Rebolledo & Gina Lía Orozco Mendoza & Valentina Vélez Suárez, 2022. "Innovation Systems and Sustainability. Development of a Methodology on Innovation Systems for the Measurement of Sustainability Indicators in Regions Based on a Colombian Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-24, November.
    9. Sascha Fuerst & Odille Sanchez-Dominguez & Miguel Angel Rodriguez-Montes, 2023. "The Role of Digital Technology within the Business Model of Sustainable Entrepreneurship," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-17, July.
    10. Jhon Wilder Zartha Sossa & Oscar Hernán López Montoya & Julio Cesar Acosta Prado, 2021. "Determinants of a sustainable innovation system," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 1345-1356, February.
    11. Lola Redondo-Rodríguez & Diana C. Pérez-Bustamante Yábar & Eloísa Díaz-Garrido, 2023. "Impact of technological innovation on digital entrepreneurship and the effects on the economy," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 1501-1526, September.
    12. Emilia Herman, 2022. "The Interplay between Digital Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development in the Context of the EU Digital Economy: A Multivariate Analysis," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-28, May.
    13. Paul, Justin & Alhassan, Ibrahim & Binsaif, Nasser & Singh, Prakash, 2023. "Digital entrepreneurship research: A systematic review," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    14. Isabelle Biclesanu & Sorin Anagnoste & Ovidiu Branga & Marco Savastano, 2021. "Digital Entrepreneurship: Public Perception of Barriers, Drivers, and Future," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-11, November.
    15. Diego Corrales-Garay & Eva-María Mora-Valentín & Marta Ortiz-de-Urbina-Criado, 2020. "Entrepreneurship Through Open Data: An Opportunity for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-25, June.
    16. Liliya Satalkina & Gerald Steiner, 2020. "Digital Entrepreneurship: A Theory-Based Systematization of Core Performance Indicators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-22, May.
    17. Gedas Baranauskas & Agota Giedrė Raišienė, 2022. "Transition to Digital Entrepreneurship with a Quest of Sustainability: Development of a New Conceptual Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-13, January.
    18. Mushira A. Eneizat & Mohammed Mufaddy Al-Kasasbeh, 2021. "Digital Entrepreneurship Perspective of Smart Organization and Technological Innovation: A Conceptual Model," Journal of Management and Sustainability, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(2), pages 1-32, December.
    19. Bejinaru Ruxandra, 2021. "Key issues of tranzition to digital entrepreneurship," Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 15(1), pages 91-101, December.
    20. Lammers, Thorsten & Rashid, Lubna & Kratzer, Jan & Voinov, Alexey, 2022. "An analysis of the sustainability goals of digital technology start-ups in Berlin," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    21. Tilman Reinhardt, 2023. "The farm to fork strategy and the digital transformation of the agrifood sector—An assessment from the perspective of innovation systems," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(2), pages 819-838, June.

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