Digital Entrepreneurship: Theoretical Foundations, Methods, and Trends
By Ana J. C. Fernandes, Universidade da Beira Interior and NECE-UBI, Research Centre for Business Sciences, Portugal, ana.joana.candeias.fernandes@ubi.pt | João J. Ferreira, Universidade da Beira Interior and NECE-UBI, Research Centre for Business Sciences, Portugal and QUT Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research, Australia, jjmf@ubi.pt | Cristina I. Fernandes, Faculty of Economics and CEF.UP - Center for Economics and Finance, Universidade do Porto, Portugal and NECE Research Unit in Business Sciences, Portugal, cifernandes@fep.up.pt | Sascha Kraus, Faculty of Economics and Management, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy and University of Johannesburg, Department of Business Management, South Africa, sascha.kraus@zfke.de
Abstract
This study seeks to provide a comprehensive and integrative review of the literature on digital entrepreneurship. Based on a systematic approach, this review portrays literature trends, integrates prevailing literature approaches, and suggests an agenda for future research on digital entrepreneurship. The strict research protocol employed led to the identification of 186 articles on digital entrepreneurship. The descriptive analysis depicts the main trends of the literature on digital entrepreneurship. The critical review, based on a subsample of 59 highly influential articles that allows for deriving meaningful insights, groups the articles based on their methodologies (theoretical studies, empirical qualitative studies, empirical quantitative studies, and empirical mixed methods studies) and systematizes the prevailing approaches of the literature on digital entrepreneurship. For each group of articles, a conceptual framework that provides a fine-grained understanding of each of the prevailing approaches that constitute high-influential research on digital entrepreneurship is devised. The insights stemming from the comprehensive in-depth analysis were integrated and an integrative framework that bridges the prevailing approaches identified, thus aiding in structuring the knowledge on digital entrepreneurship, is devised. Finally, based on the comprehensive and integrative review undertaken, promising paths to further knowledge on digital entrepreneurship, and implications for theory, policy, and managerial practice are stated.
Digital Entrepreneurship: Theoretical Foundations, Methods, and Trends
Digital Entrepreneurship: Theoretical Foundations, Methods, and Trends offers a thorough and integrative review of the existing literature on digital entrepreneurship. Utilizing a systematic approach, the review identifies key trends, synthesizes prevailing methodologies, and proposes a forward-looking research agenda.
The analysis is twofold: a descriptive section highlights the main trends in the literature, while a critical review categorizes articles by methodology, spanning theoretical, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies. For each category, a conceptual framework is developed to provide a nuanced understanding of the influential approaches shaping the field.
This in-depth review culminates in an integrative framework that connects and organizes the prevailing approaches, offering a clearer structure of the knowledge landscape in digital entrepreneurship. Additionally, this work identifies promising avenues for future research, with implications for theory development, policy formulation, and managerial practice.
