Digital transformation influenced by systemic entrepreneurship: the moderating effects of level of economic development

PurposeThis research aims to study the impacts of systemic entrepreneurship on digital transformation and verify the moderating effects of the level of economic development on this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe data deployed features nationally aggregated statistics gathered from different sources, specifically: Eurostat, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the United Nations, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum. The study sample spans the 27 member states of the European Union between 2016 and 2020 (five years). The applied an econometric methodology to validate the research hypotheses based on multiple regression methods applied to a sample of 135 observations.FindingsAs a result, the authors may conclude that systemic entrepreneurship return a positive impact on digital transformation processes as a facilitating factor for entrepreneurial performance, the implementation of skills, attitudes and aspirations to deploy digital technologies. The incremental relationship between National Entrepreneurship Systems (NESs) and digital transformation fosters higher levels of economic development whenever incorporating financial incentives, infrastructures, empowerment and the development of professional profiles, which stimulate new businesses and technologies.Originality/valueThe contributions of this study stem from identifying systemic entrepreneurship as a factor that positively impacts digital transformation. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this represents the first study that examines the impact of NES on digital transformation considering the moderating effect of the level of economic development.