Digital tools create vastly different odds for startups, depending on who uses them
A new framework reveals that digital entrepreneurship during crises doesn't level the playing field as often assumed—instead, it creates winners and losers based on access and context. For policymakers and investors, this means supporting startups requires understanding which entrepreneurs can actually benefit from digital tools, not just distributing them equally.
Originaltitel: Unlocking the potential of digital entrepreneurship in turbulent times: A comprehensive overview
<p>Digital technologies are central to how entrepreneurs respond to external shocks and uncertainty, yet researchabout digital entrepreneurship lacks a conceptual architecture for theorising this relationship. This paper developsa multilevel framework for understanding digital entrepreneurship under conditions of turbulence andmakes three contributions. First, we sharpen the distinction between digital entrepreneurship (DE) and entrepreneurshipin the digital age (EDA), arguing that the ontological properties of digital artefacts create distinctopportunity structures requiring dedicated theorising. Second, we conceptualise turbulence not as a uniformexogenous shock but as a relational condition whose entrepreneurial consequences vary by level of analysis andby the type of digital mechanism through which actors respond. Third, we foreground a core paradox—thesimultaneous democratising and exclusionary potential of digital technologies—and propose it as an organisingtension for future research. The six papers in this collection anchor the framework across micro, meso, and macrolevels and motivate a research agenda organised around four foundational questions.</p>