Digital Start-Up Ecosystems: A Systematic Literature Review and Model Development for South Africa

Digital start-ups play a crucial role in boosting the economies of many countries through technological innovations. Several studies have been conducted assessing digital start-ups or digital entrepreneurship, mainly from the perspective of the Global North. However, gaps exist in the literature regarding digital ecosystems, especially in the context of developing countries (the Global South), such as South Africa. This study fills this gap by exploring the structure as well as highlighting the hindering factors of the start-up ecosystem in South Africa. In addition, the study explores the influential factors of the digital start-up ecosystem and models that can be used to assess upscaling for the growth of new digital start-up ventures. The study conducted a systematic literature review using the PRISMA framework. The Scopus-indexed database was used to source published peer-reviewed papers on digital ecosystems between 2017 and 2023. Key findings of the study pertaining to South Africa’s start-up ecosystem revealed that the country is producing thriving digital start-ups. The current study also identified several challenges that affect the development of digital start-ups in South Africa. Some of the challenges include regulatory barriers, skills shortages, a lack of funding, and a digital infrastructure gap, among others. Furthermore, work is being conducted by ecosystem stakeholders to address these challenges, with a greater collective and cohesive effort needed to effectively address the hindering factors. The study advocates for intervention as well as policy and practitioner implications that could be utilised by ecosystem stakeholders, particularly entrepreneurs in the digital market. The research findings pertain to the South African start-up ecosystem but have greater appeal and relevancy for many developing start-up ecosystems globally, especially in the Global South

The dynamics of sartup innovation in innovation ecosystems

Because of its complexity, innovation requires a multitude of resources that are hardly found within startups due to their being resource-constrained young ventures. To overcome such liabilities, startups rely on actors in the innovation ecosystem (IE) to benefit from their resources. IE refer to the business environment where actors under a multilayer social network interact to co-create value for the innovation of an actor or a population of actors. Therefore, startups create ties with IE actors such as universities, incubators, suppliers, among other actors to leverage their resources. Nonetheless, the underlying dynamics of resource sharing and how startups benefit from the IE remain unidentified. Grounded on that, this doctoral thesis aims to analyze the innovation management dynamics of startups in innovation ecosystems. To that end, this thesis addresses three main research objectives: (i) to describe how startups manage IE actors’ resources throughout their lifecycle phases; (ii) to analyze how the interplay between IE participation and market contingencies influence startups’ innovativeness; and finally (iii) to identify how the relationship between startups’ innovativeness is affected by their presence in an IE, resourcefulness and team qualification. For research objective (i), ten cases of startups and interview IE actors were studied. Findings show that during creation, interaction with nonmarket oriented actors is predominant and startups focus on bundling innovation and social resources. While in the development phase, interactions involve a balanced integration of market and non-market oriented actors, and startups focus on bundling innovation, social, and organizational resources. Finally, interactions with market-oriented actors are predominant in the market phase, and startups still bundle innovation and social resources. ased on the findings, we discuss how IE help startups develop an ambidextrous strategy of exploration and exploitation and which capabilities startups develop in each lifecycle phase. Next, for research objective (ii), a contingency perspective is adopted to analyze how the interplay between market factors and innovation ecosystem participation influences startups’ technological and business model innovativeness. We analyze data from a large-scale survey of German startups. We show that participating in an IE is especially beneficial when startups must cope with rapid-changing, less predictable, and low-profit markets. Whereas for business model innovativeness, the innovation ecosystem is most beneficial for startups that must cope with low-profit and more predictable markets. Finally, our findings of objective (iii) show that IE participation is able to compensate for low team qualification possibly because the startup is able to find in the IE the teams’ shortcomings. Also, we found that the effect of resourcefulness on overall innovativeness depends on the startups’ IE participation. More specifically, high resourcefulness behavior is able to compensate for low IE participation. The main contributions of this thesis lie in relating startups’ participation in IE and the benefits drawn from this relationship. The results found show that IE are a key element for resource acquisition, to help overcome market contingencies, and to leverage resourcefulness and team qualification to make the most of the internal strengths.Devido à sua complexidade, inovar requer muitos recursos que dificilmente são encontrados nas startups, por essas serem empreendimentos jovens com recursos limitados. Para superar tal dificuldade, as startups contam com atores do ecossistema de inovação (EI) para se beneficiarem de seus recursos. EI refere-se ao ambiente de negócios onde os atores de uma rede social multicamadas interagem para cocriar valor propiciando a inovação de um ator ou de uma população de atores. Portanto, as startups criam vínculos com atores de EI como universidades, incubadoras, fornecedores, entre outros atores para alavancar seus recursos. No entanto, a dinâmica existente no compartilhamento de recursos e como as startups se beneficiam do EI carecem de aprofundamento teórico. Com base nisso, esta tese de doutorado tem como objetivo analisar a dinâmica de gestão da inovação de startups em ecossistemas de inovação. Para tanto, esta tese aborda três objetivos principais de pesquisa: (i) descrever como as startups gerenciam os recursos dos atores de EI ao longo de suas fases de ciclo de vida; (ii) analisar como a interação entre a participação no EI e as contingências de mercado influenciam a inovatividade das startups; e por fim (iii) identificar como a relação entre a inovatividade das startups é afetada pela presença em um EI, pelo comportamento de resourcefulness e pela qualificação da equipe. Para o objetivo de pesquisa (i), foram estudados dez casos de startups de manufatura e realizadas entrevistas com atores do EI. Os resultados mostram que durante a criação, a interação com atores não orientados ao mercado é predominante e as startups se concentram em agrupar recursos de inovação e sociais. Enquanto na fase de desenvolvimento, as interações envolvem uma integração equilibrada de atores orientados e não orientados ao mercado, e as startups se concentram em agregar recursos de inovação, sociais e organizacionais. Por fim, as interações com atores orientados para o mercado são predominantes na fase de mercado, e as startups ainda agregam recursos sociais e de inovação. Com base nos achados, discutimos como o EI ajuda as startups a desenvolver uma estratégia ambidestra de exploration e exploitation e quais capacidades as startups desenvolvem em cada fase do ciclo de vida. Em seguida, para o objetivo de pesquisa (ii), adota-se uma perspectiva de contingência para analisar como a interação entre os fatores de mercado e a participação do ecossistema de inovação influencia a inovação tecnológica e do modelo de negócios das startups. Foram analisados dados de uma pesquisa em larga escala de startups alemãs que mostraram que participar de um EI é especialmente benéfico quando as startups precisam lidar com mercados em rápida mudança, menos previsíveis e de baixo lucro. Já para a inovação do modelo de negócios, o ecossistema de inovação é mais benéfico para startups que precisam lidar com mercados de baixo lucro e mais previsíveis. Por fim, os achados do objetivo (iii) mostram que a participação no EI é capaz de compensar a baixa qualificação da equipe possivelmente porque a startup consegue encontrar no EI formas de superar as deficiências das equipes. Além disso, descobriu-se que o efeito da resourcefulness na inovatividade depende da participação das startups no EI. Mais especificamente, alto nível de resourcefulness é capaz de compensar a baixa participação do EI. As principais contribuições desta tese estão em relacionar a participação das startups no EI e os benefícios advindos dessa relação. Os resultados encontrados mostram que o EI é um elemento chave para a captação de recursos, para ajudar a superar as contingências do mercado e alavancar a resourcefulness com recursos e a qualificação da equipe para aproveitar ao máximo as forças internas

Fostering Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and the Choice of Location for New Companies in Rural Areas – the Case of Germany

Startup ecosystems have become a popular field of research in recent years, not only for researchers but also for regional policy makers. Contemporary research on startup ecosystems generally focuses on urban areas and hubs such as Silicon Valley, Berlin, or Tel Aviv. However, little is known about startup ecosystems in rural areas. To fill this research gap, the research objective of this paper is to analyse disparities between entrepreneurial ecosystems in urban and rural areas in general and specifically in Germany. The major aim of this study is to examine the importance and development of startups in urban and rural areas and to identify challenges and opportunities for rural areas in order to set the right impulses. The research focus of this paper is to discuss which stakeholders and determinants affect the founders in their location decision. Using German Startup Monitor (DSM) 2019 data, it is found that the lack of network ties and opportunities to collaborate with established corporations; availability of qualified personnel; access to venture capital; an investment and economic policy initiative appear to be obstacles that prevent founders from starting up in rural areas in Germany. The results also confirm the findings of other studies that entrepreneurship tends to be an urban event. This study also provides suggestions for future research

Evolution of Collaborative Networks Supporting Startup Sustainability: Evidences from Digital Firms

The aim of this paper is to investigate whether startup evolution can be conceptualized in a life cycle model intended as an unpredictable sequence of stages, where startups need to find actors with whom to collaborate to acquire knowledge and resources supporting the effectiveness and the sustainability of their mission. The creation and implementation of collaborative networks is observed through the lens of the holistic approach to the entrepreneurial ecosystem, whose purpose is to build “bridges” between different actors through the creation of communities of best practices or entrepreneurial networks. The creation of a specific ecosystem is suggested to ease the new digital entrepreneurship generation toward acquiring an appropriate level of knowledge, skills, financial facilitations, and entrepreneurial culture. Following a multiple case study analysis based on nine successful Italian digital firms, the empirical evidence seems to confirm that firms collaborate with different actors in different stages, as knowledge and resource networks play a critical role in sustaining the evolution and success of new firms

Case Survey Studies in Software Engineering Research

Background: Given the social aspects of Software Engineering (SE), in the last twenty years, researchers from the field started using research methods common in social sciences such as case study, ethnography, and grounded theory. More recently, case survey, another imported research method, has seen its increasing use in SE studies. It is based on existing case studies reported in the literature and intends to harness the generalizability of survey and the depth of case study. However, little is known on how case survey has been applied in SE research, let alone guidelines on how to employ it properly. Aims: This article aims to provide a better understanding of how case survey has been applied in Software Engineering research. Method: To address this knowledge gap, we performed a systematic mapping study and analyzed 12 Software Engineering studies that used the case survey method. Results: Our findings show that these studies presented a heterogeneous understanding of the approach ranging from secondary studies to primary inquiries focused on a large number of instances of a research phenomenon. They have not applied the case survey method consistently as defined in the seminal methodological papers. Conclusions: We conclude that a set of clearly defined guidelines are needed on how to use case survey in SE research, to ensure the quality of the studies employing this approach and to provide a set of clearly defined criteria to evaluate such work.Comment: Accepted for presentation at ACM / IEEE International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement (ESEM) (ESEM '20

How a network-based start-up ecosystem supports new venture performance: Management perspectives and future research.

The literature on how a start-up ecosystem has an impact on a start-up’s performance has significantly grown and contributed to the management field. Nevertheless, these theoretical developments have been scattered, inconsistent, lacking in theoretical depth. Therefore, in this review, we use three perspectives to organise the knowledge field, refine concepts and generate a prospectus for future studies. The perspectives reviewed are the Resource-Based View, Open Innovation and Social Capital Theory. The results have generally shown that the network-based start-up ecosystem contributes resources, capabilities, learning, collaboration, relationship, knowledge shared and social capital to new ventures. The influence of these benefits for new venture performance is uncertain. Conceptual development in start-up ecosystem research will gain value from management perspectives that address these benefits. We propose a plan for future studies on network-based start-ups that is oriented towards a more robust framework with which to consider the role and influence of a start-up ecosystem that goes beyond general descriptions of the positive effect of start-ups network-ecosystem on performance

An exploratory conceptual model for digital entrepreneurs within entrepreneurial ecosystems

The entrepreneurial ecosystem is a well-known concept in supporting the creation and growth of entrepreneurs, driving the economy in a region. However, entrepreneurship is evolving, as more and more novel digital technologies are introduced into our lives. Accordingly, this paper focuses on digital entrepreneurs, who are defined as the entrepreneurs, who utilize innovation based on digital technology to create economic or social value by starting new ventures or transform existing ones (European Commission, 2015), and the relevant ecosystem that supports them. The change in the relationship between digital entrepreneurs and an entrepreneurial ecosystem, as they evolve towards digital products and customer engagement is the focus of this research. We reviewed the literature on the topic of digital entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial ecosystem using a concept-centric matrix, capturing 14 elements of an entrepreneurial ecosystem. These elements include networks, policy and government, professional and support services, capital services, human capital, culture, markets, knowledge sources, intermediaries, informal networks, leadership, physical infrastructure, engagement, and cooperative companies. The identified elements were then used to develop a conceptual framework, which will form the basis for the research strategy. This study sets out to establish the existence of these elements in the ecosystems and the extent of their usefulness. Therefore, this paper seeks to address the research gap of how digital entrepreneurs utilize each ecosystem element to understand their importance in the conceptual framework. We intend to conduct an exploratory quantitative research approach, gathering data from start-up digital entrepreneurs that are engaged in an entrepreneurial ecosystem, by using a data instrument derived from the conceptual framework. Then, we will analyze the data using descriptive and bi-variate statistical tools to uncover causal relations between the elements. The next phase of the research will involve case studies, where we plan to use the updated conceptual framework to undertake in-depth interviews to establish the context of digital entrepreneurial ecosystems

Organizational Culture and Masculinities in a Startup Company in Finland

This article explores the organizational culture of the startup scene in Finland. Startup companies offer an interesting setting for research, because their organizational culture, hierarchy and power structures differ from those of large traditional organizations. The method used in this study was an organizational ethnography in a startup company in Finland, which included participant observation, and interviews with employees. The organizational culture of the startup was informal, relaxed, low in hierarchy, and employees had autonomy for deciding on their working times and locations. Masculinities were visible in the organizational culture of the startup company in the form of ‘harsh’ language and rambunctious humor, men changing their behavior and discussion topics when women were around, and managers communicating more aggressively with men than with women. The results further showed that gender was a criterion for inclusion and exclusion. The research concludes that startup companies are not gender-neutral spaces.Peer reviewe

Professional Entrepreneurial Competencies and Creativity Skills Formation Under the Influence of Educational Practices of Start-Up Projects Development

This article defines the role of start-up projects as a pedagogical tool aimed at consolidating and updating vocational training of students majoring in entrepreneurial studies. It presents an online survey conducted among Russian and Azerbaijan entrepreneurs, which allowed identifying key competencies necessary to practice a flourishing business activity in the current environment. The role of start-ups in strengthening and upgrading entrepreneurship students’ professional competencies was identified based on self-assessment of their professional progress during educational training. The research methodology made it possible to identify levers of influence on students’ involvement in training, the effective usage of which can dramatically change the quality of future specialists’ education due to the synergy of theoretical and practical activities. Using a survey of 50 Russian and Azerbaijani entrepreneurs, selected using a series of filters and based on a random sample, a list of entrepreneurs' competencies and skills was formed. Checking by the Cronbach method a demonstrated the acceptability of the internal reliability of the resulting list (α = .821). This list was used to survey 395 students from 5 Russian and one Azerbaijani universities using the method of assessing on a 4-point Likert scale their results in entrepreneurship training after The practical vocational training in the “Start-up Projects - New Generation†ecosystem, described in this study. The students' assessment of the level of development of their vocational skills turned out to be relevantly high. In practice, the research results can be applied in the creation of entrepreneurship training courses, as well as with the aim of increasing student entrepreneurship motivation and enhancing their practical experience