Thomas Schøtt

Digitalization is imperative for a startup to be competitive, management consultants assert. Accordingly, many entrepreneurs found startups on the basis of digital technology. Many others, however, are not digitalizing. This raises a question for research, what are the roles of digitalization, specifically for turning an entrepreneur’s entrepreneurial orientation into innovation performance in the startup? A globally representative sample of 22,508 entrepreneurs was surveyed by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, reporting on digitalization and likely sources and consequences. The effect of an entrepreneur’s entrepreneurial orientation upon innovation performance in the startup is found to be moderated but not mediated by digitalization. As a distinct and separate capability, digitalization, alongside entrepreneurial orientation, is promoting innovation performance. Findings contribute to accounting for the roles of digitalization in startups.

Background/Purpose This study investigates the distinct entrepreneurial motivations driving export activities and sustainability pursuits in Slovenian businesses, with a particular focus on differences between newborns and mature enterprises. The study proposes that entrepreneurs who prioritize wealth accumulation are more likely to engage in export activities, particularly those running startups, under the pressures of global trade. Conversely, in light of the shifting cultural values towards sustainability, it is hypothesized that entrepreneurs who are committed to making a difference in the world will be more inclined towards sustainability engagement, a tendency that may be more pronounced in startups. Methods To test these hypotheses, linear regression modelling, using data collected from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey of businesses in Slovenia was employed. Results Newborns, in comparison to mature businesses, are more engaged in both exporting and sustainability pursuits. Interestingly, the motives behind these activities differ significantly. Exporting is primarily driven by the pursuit of wealth accumulation, while sustainability engagement is motivated by the desire to make a positive difference in the world. Conclusion These findings provide valuable insights into the unique characteristics of internationalization and sustainability pursuits in startups versus mature businesses. They highlight the role of distinct entrepreneurial motivations in shaping business practices, contributing to the literature on entrepreneurship

7. mednarodna znanstvena konferenca: "Krepitev odpornosti s trajnostnim gospodarstvom in poslovanjem - na poti k ciljem trajnostnega razvoja". Trajnost je vse pomembnejši mehanizem odpornosti ter konkurenčnosti gospodarstev in podjetij v dinamičnem in nepredvidljivem globalnem okolju. Cilji trajnostnega predstavljajo usmeritve za implementacijo trajnosti na številna področja družbenih, gospodarskih in okoljskih dejavnosti posameznikov, organizacij in družb. Nedavna svetovna zdravstvena kriza, podnebne spremembe in mednarodni geopolitični pretresi povečujejo pomen trajnosti za družbe in organizacije in narekujejo nujno preoblikovanje poslovnih modelov podjetij v smeri trajnosti. Ti dogodki sprožajo spremembe škodljivih družbeno-gospodarskih trendov ter dejavnikov globalne konkurenčnosti gospodarstev in podjetij. Prispevki v zborniku obravnavajo aktualne ekonomske in poslovne izzive, s katerimi se v obdobju nove razvojne paradigme, srečujejo države in podjetja ter posegajo na vsa področja ekonomije in poslovnih ved.

How are exports shaped by digitalization? Scholars debate a global digital divide that impacts internationalization. The pandemic disrupted exports, so the pandemic provides opportunity to examine digitalization as a tool for recovery of exports. Analysis of 47 sampled countries shows that wealth, especially in the West, facilitated early digitalization, but that other regions are catching up, externally enabled by resilience in the pandemic. Analysis of 7073 businesses sampled representatively in several countries shows that early digitalization and especially recent digitalization in businesses form capabilities promoting their exports. Findings contribute to accounting for eco-systemic embeddedness of digitalization shaping exporting.

Businesses around the world are rapidly adopting digital technologies. Adoption, though, is not even, but it varies over time and differs from society to society, depending on resources in the ecosystem. This study addresses how past, present, and future digitalization is developing globally and, in each society, depending on its resources. A survey of businesses in 47 countries, conducted by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor in 2021, provides national-level measures of digital technology adoption before and during the pandemic and the intention for adoption in the near future. Adoption of digital technology is found to vary significantly across both time and place. Before the pandemic, adoption was concentrated in the wealthiest societies. The pandemic was an external enabler, pushing less digitalized societies to catch up, independent of national economies, thus entailing some convergence. The early pandemic has been followed by intentions to digitalize, which differ widely, entailing some divergence. Intentions are strong in some societies that are forging ahead, but they are weaker in some less-digitalized and low-income societies that may be falling behind. The findings contribute to understanding digitalization as a global phenomenon and the pandemic as an external enabler that has promoted catching up and convergence in digitalization. Still, recovery is uneven and entailing divergence, as some societies are forging ahead while others are falling behind.

A business may adopt a strategy for sustainability and may implement its strategy in its practice. Our question is, how are strategy and practice coupled and shaped by entrepreneurs and businesses embedded in national eco-systems in the Middle East and North Africa and around the world? Businesses were randomly sampled and surveyed in 2021, and national conditions were assessed by experts in ten countries in the Middle East and North Africa and in Spain and other countries around the world, as part of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Strategy and practice are found to have a loose coupling but are tighter in the Middle East and North Africa than in Spain. Strategy is promoted by support from businesses and governments, but support depends on national wealth. Strategy and practice by entrepreneurs and businesses are promoted by the entrepreneurs’ human and social capital and the value of making a difference in the world and continuing a family tradition. Findings contribute to understanding business engagement with sustainability, specifically in the Middle East and North Africa, as compared to Spain and in a global perspective.

Entrepreneurs are known to be more satisfied than employees, with their life satisfaction being built on their satisfaction with their job and work–family balance. We argue that effects differ among societies, drawing on theories about self-determination and culture. Representative samples of 1276 entrepreneurs and 3821 employees in traditional China and modern Finland and Sweden were surveyed by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), which is amenable to multivariate analyses. The effects of occupation upon satisfaction were found to differ among the societies, consistent with their cultural differences. These findings contribute to contextualizing theories about satisfaction being embedded in society and culture.

People may finance entrepreneurs, often family members. Here, the question is: how has the COVID-19 pandemic affected people’s funding of family-related entrepreneurs and non-family-related entrepreneurs? The pandemic predictably reduced the funding of family-related entrepreneurs and especially the financing of non-family-related entrepreneurs. However, a culture supportive of family businesses may alleviate the declining funding of family-related entrepreneurs, predictably, while a secular–rational culture supportive of non-family businesses may alleviate the declining financing of non-family-related entrepreneurs. Similar to a field experiment, a globally representative survey was conducted before and after the disruption in 42 countries, interviewing 266,983 adults either before or after the disruption. The individual-level data are combined with national-level data on culture, amenable to hierarchical linear modeling. People’s financing of family-related entrepreneurs and especially of non-family-related entrepreneurs are found to have declined with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, culture provides resilience, in that the declining funding of family-related entrepreneurs was alleviated where the culture supports family businesses, and the declining funding of non-family-related entrepreneurs was alleviated in societies with a secular–rational culture. The findings contribute to contextualizing business angel financing temporally, as embedded in time before and after the COVID-19 pandemic disruption, and societally, as embedded in culture providing resilience.