Less is more: digital and physical sustainability shortage impact on entrepreneurial intention

This study explores the complex relationship between entrepreneurial sustainability awareness, the diffusion of digital technologies, and their combined influence on national-level entrepreneurial intention (EI). By introducing the novel concept of sustainability shortage perception, the research investigates its manifestations in both digital and physical contexts. The overarching goal is to investigate how these perceptions, alongside the broader EI landscape, shape EI on a national scale. The research design integrates data from two comprehensive country-level databases and the Internet. A configurational approach is employed to analyze a time-lagged dataset covering 48 countries. This method comprehensively explains the complex relationships between sustainability shortage perceptions, digitalization, and EI. The study’s findings highlight the critical role of sustainability shortage perceptions in both digital and physical domains in shaping national-level EI. When considered alongside the broader entrepreneurial opportunity landscape, these perceptions significantly contribute to shaping the EI of nations. This emphasizes the interconnectedness of sustainability awareness, digitalization, and the overall entrepreneurial climate at a macroeconomic level. This research contributes significantly to the actual debate by introducing and operationalizing sustainability shortage perception, extending its application to both digital and physical realms. The study’s configurational approach provides a fresh methodological perspective, offering nuanced insights into the multifaceted relationships under investigation. Furthermore, the research advances the methodological toolkit available for scholars in this field by measuring sustainability shortage perception in the digital environment.