LEVERAGING OPEN INNOVATION AND DIGITAL PLATFORMS TO ACCELERATE SUSTAINABLE STARTUP ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT IN EMERGING ECONOMIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17757068Keywords:
open innovation, digital platforms, startup ecosystems, emerging economies, survival modelling (weibull), digital readiness, sustainable venture developmentAbstract
In the wake of rapid digital transformation in emerging markets, it is increasingly debated whether resourceconstrained
entrepreneurial systems can achieve sustainable ecosystem expansion through open innovation in the
same manner as advanced economies did. Based on these facts, the aim of this paper is to examine, quantify, and
interpret the impact of digital platform participation on startup survival and its potential impact in the field of sustainable
venture development. The authors construct a parametric survival modelling framework using the Weibull estimation for
describing the relationship between the Open Innovation Index and ecosystem-level enabling factors. With allowance for
the heterogeneous effects of institutional environments, models with time-varying and region-specific effects were built.
In our study, we identified structural constraints related to knowledge access, network diversity, digital readiness, and
entrepreneurial capabilities. Evidence suggests that open innovation intensity is likely to affect long-term firm persistence,
but it is questionable whether digital-platform-driven diffusion of subsequent entrepreneurial ecosystem movements (e.g.
towards green-growth orientation) will equally benefit from platform-mediated collaboration. The paper finishes with
policy implications and methodological reflections for emerging-economy innovation stakeholders. Digital platforms as
well as cross-border knowledge flows change the rules of entrepreneurial scaling and the requirements of legitimacy,
capability building, and strategic positioning of new ventures. Future studies can empirically test the proposed linkages to
reveal region-, sector-, and platform-specific complementarities between processes of open innovation and sustainable
ecosystem development.
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