Digital social entrepreneurship: the N-Helix response to stakeholders' COVID-19 needs.

Ibáñez MJ, Guerrero M, Yáñez-Valdés C, Barros-Celume S

J Technol Transf - (-) 1-24 [2021-03-30; online 2021-03-30]

This study explores the emergence of a new entrepreneurship phenomenon (digital social entrepreneurship) as a result of the collaboration among many agents (N-Helix), given the government's limited capacity to respond to the stakeholders' needs satisfaction related to an exogenous event (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic). Our theory development is based on three ongoing academic debates related to (a) the unrepresentativeness of the stakeholder theory in entrepreneurship research; (b) the emergence of digital social entrepreneurship (DSE) as a bridge between stakeholders' needs, socio-economic actors, and digital-social initiatives; and (c) the role of N-Helix collaborations to facilitate the emergence of global knowledge-intensive initiatives and the rapid adoptions of open innovations. Our results support our assumptions about the positive mediation effect of DSE in the relationship between N-Helix collaborations and stakeholders' satisfaction. Notably, results show how pandemic has intensified these relationships and how DSE in N-Helix collaborations can generate social impacts globally. Some implications for policy-makers have emerged from our results that should be considered during/post-COVID-19 pandemic.

Category: Other

Type: Journal article

PubMed 33814697

DOI 10.1007/s10961-021-09855-4

Crossref 10.1007/s10961-021-09855-4

pii: 9855
pmc: PMC8007451


Publications 9.5.0