Global trends in the development of digital entrepreneurship business models: a bibliometric analysis

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26661/2522-1566/2025-2/32-17

Keywords:

digitalization, e-commerce, digital entrepreneurship, online business, sustainable development, startup

Abstract

This article explores the dynamics of publication activity in the field of business models of digital entrepreneurship based on the data from the Scopus database over the period 2011–2024. The purpose of the study is to identify patterns in the development of scientific research on digital entrepreneurship and the evolution of business models as reliable tools for promoting entrepreneurial projects in the context of digitalization and globalization. An integrated bibliometric approach was employed to analyze research outcomes and publication trends related to business models in digital entrepreneurship. The articles search and data analysis were conducted using the Scopus database and its analytical tools. Keyword co-occurrence networks and clustering of research areas were visualized using VOSviewer software. The article has identified the key trends in the development of research in this field, in particular a significant increase in publications since 2018, resulting from the rise of global e-commerce and the influence of digital technologies on entrepreneurial activity. The most highly cited publications have been reviewed, along with the top 10 scholars who have made significant contributions to the study of digital entrepreneurship business models. Additionally, the distribution of publications by country and funding source was analyzed, highlighting the major centers of scientific activity. Based on keyword clustering via VOSviewer, the main research directions have been outlined, including digital entrepreneurship, e-commerce, business modeling, and innovation. The results may serve as a valuable resource for identifying current trends and future directions in digital entrepreneurship research.

JEL Classification: F41, M13, М21

References

Paul, J., Alhassan, I., Binsaif, N., & Singh, P. (2022). Digital entrepreneurship research: A systematic review. Journal of Business Research, 156, 113507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113507.

Sahut, J.-M., Iandoli, L., & Teulon, F. (2021). The age of digital entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 56(3), 1159–1169. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-019-00260-8.

Balocco, R., Cavallo, A., Ghezzi, A., & Berbegal-Mirabent, J. (2019). Lean business models change process in digital entrepreneurship. Business Process Management Journal, 25(7), 1520–1542. https://doi.org/10.1108/BPMJ-07-2018-0194.

Yáñez-Valdés, C., & Guerrero, M. (2024). Determinants and impacts of digital entrepreneurship: A pre- and post-COVID-19 perspective. Technovation, 132, 102983. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2024.102983.

Gouveia, S., de la Iglesia, D. H., Abrantes, J. L., & López Rivero, A. J. (2024). Transforming Strategy and Value Creation Through Digitalization? Administrative Sciences, 14(11), 307. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci14110307.

Baranauskas, G., & Raišienė, A. G. (2022). Transition to Digital Entrepreneurship with a Quest of Sustainability: Development of a New Conceptual Framework. Sustainability, 14(3), 1104. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031104.

Prokopenko, O., Järvis, M., Bielialov, T., Omelyanenko, V., & Malheiro, T. (2024). The future of entrepreneurship: Bridging the innovation skills gap through digital learning. In Lecture notes in mechanical engineering (pp. 206–230). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-61582-5_18.

Liu, X., & Zhang, L. (2024). Entrepreneurial Bricolage, Business Model Innovation, and Sustainable Entrepreneurial Performance of Digital Entrepreneurial Ventures: The Moderating Effect of Digital Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Empowerment. Sustainability, 16(18), 8168. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16188168.

Park, H., Kim, S., Jeong, Y., & Minshall, T. (2020). Customer entrepreneurship on digital platforms: Challenges and solutions for platform business models. Creativity and Innovation Management, 30(1), 96–115. https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12404.

Harrisson-Boudreau, J., & Bellemare, J. (2021). Going above and beyond eCommerce in the future highly virtualized world and increasingly digital ecosystem. In Lecture notes in mechanical engineering (pp. 789–797). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90700-6_90.

Etro, F. (2023). e‐Commerce platforms and self‐preferencing. Journal of Economic Surveys. https://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12594

Lungu, A. E., Georgescu, M. R., & Juravle, D. (2024). A Bibliometric Analysis of Digital entrepreneurship. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 15, 18617–18645. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-024-01885-1.

Global e-Commerce hits $25.6 trillion – latest UNCTAD estimates. (2020, April 27). UNCTAD. https://unctad.org/press-material/global-e-commerce-hits-256-trillion-latest-unctad-estimates

Shi, L., Mai, Y., & Wu, Y. J. (2022). Digital transformation. Journal of Organizational and End User Computing, 34(7), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.4018/joeuc.302637

Aggarwal, R., Verma, T., Singh, G., & Singh, A. (2024). Digital Entrepreneurship: Future Directions. In Nova Science Publishers eBooks. https://doi.org/10.52305/fytz7746.

Ghezzi, A., & Cavallo, A. (2018). Agile Business Model Innovation in Digital entrepreneurship: Lean Startup Approaches. Journal of Business Research, 110, 519–537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.06.013.

Richter, C., Kraus, S., Brem, A., Durst, S., & Giselbrecht, C. (2017). Digital entrepreneurship: Innovative business models for the sharing economy. Creativity and Innovation Management, 26(3), 300–310. https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12227.

Kraus, S., Palmer, C., Kailer, N., Kallinger, F. L., & Spitzer, J. (2019). Digital entrepreneurship: A research agenda on new business models for the twenty-first century. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, 25(2), 353–375. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-06-2018-0425.

Bican, P. M., & Brem, A. (2020). Digital business model, digital transformation, digital entrepreneurship: Is there a sustainable “Digital”? Sustainability, 12(13), 5239. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135239.

Steininger, D. M. (2018). Linking information systems and entrepreneurship: A review and agenda for IT‐associated and digital entrepreneurship research. Information Systems Journal, 29(2), 363–407. https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12206.

Ghezzi, A. (2019). Digital startups and the adoption and implementation of Lean Startup Approaches: Effectuation, Bricolage and Opportunity Creation in practice. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 146, 945–960. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.09.017.

Gavrila Gavrila, S., & de Lucas Ancillo, A. (2021). Spanish SMEs’ digitalization enablers: E-Receipt applications to the offline retail market. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 162, 120381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120381.

Richter, C., Kraus, S., & Syrjä, P. (2015). The shareconomy as a precursor for digital entrepreneurship business models. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 25(1), 18–35. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJESB.2015.068773.

Tranfield, D., Denyer, D. & Smart, P. (2003) Towards a Methodology for Developing Evidence: Informed Management Knowledge by Means of Systematic Review. British Journal of Management, 14, 207-222. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.00375.

Oliveira, S. R. M., & Trento, S. (2023). Technological innovation capability of business incubators and digital entrepreneurship performance in an innovation ecosystem. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 27(3/4), 173–207. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijeim.2023.133379.

СПИСОК ВИКОРИСТАНИХ ДЖЕРЕЛ

1. Paul J., Alhassan I., Binsaif N., Singh P. Digital entrepreneurship research: A systematic review. Journal of Business Research. 2022. Vol. 156. Paper ID 113507. URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113507.

2. Sahut J.-M., Iandoli L., Teulon F. The age of digital entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics. 2021. Vol. 56, no. 3. P. 1159–1169. URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-019-00260-8.

3. Balocco R., Cavallo A., Ghezzi A., Berbegal-Mirabent J. Lean business models change process in digital entrepreneurship. Business Process Management Journal. 2019. Vol. 25, no. 7. P. 1520–1542. URL: https://doi.org/10.1108/BPMJ-07-2018-0194.

4. Yáñez-Valdés C., Guerrero M. Determinants and impacts of digital entrepreneurship: A pre- and post-COVID-19 perspective. Technovation. 2024. Vol. 132. Paper ID 102983. URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2024.102983.

5. Gouveia S., de la Iglesia D. H., Abrantes J. L., López Rivero A. J. Transforming Strategy and Value Creation Through Digitalization? Administrative Sciences. 2024. Vol. 14, no. 11. Paper ID 307. URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci14110307.

6. Baranauskas G., Raišienė A. G. Transition to Digital Entrepreneurship with a Quest of Sustainability: Development of a New Conceptual Framework. Sustainability. 2022. Vol. 14, no. 3. Paper ID 1104. URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031104.

7. Prokopenko O., Järvis M., Bielialov T., Omelyanenko V., Malheiro T. The future of entrepreneurship: Bridging the innovation skills gap through digital learning. In Lecture notes in mechanical engineering. 2024. P. 206–230. URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-61582-5_18.

8. Liu X., Zhang L. Entrepreneurial Bricolage, Business Model Innovation, and Sustainable Entrepreneurial Performance of Digital Entrepreneurial Ventures: The Moderating Effect of Digital Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Empowerment. Sustainability. 2024. Vol. 16, no. 18. Paper ID 8168. URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/su16188168.

9. Park H., Kim S., Jeong Y., Minshall T. Customer entrepreneurship on digital platforms: Challenges and solutions for platform business models. Creativity and Innovation Management. 2020. Vol. 30, no. 1. P. 96–115. URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12404.

10. Harrisson-Boudreau J., Bellemare J. Going above and beyond eCommerce in the future highly virtualized world and increasingly digital ecosystem. In Lecture notes in mechanical engineering. 2021. P. 789–797. URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90700-6_90.

11. Etro F. e‐Commerce platforms and self‐preferencing. Journal of Economic Surveys. 2023. URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12594

12. Lungu A. E., Georgescu M. R., Juravle D. A Bibliometric Analysis of Digital entrepreneurship. Journal of the Knowledge Economy. 2024. Vol. 15. P. 18617–18645. URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-024-01885-1.

13. Global e-Commerce hits $25.6 trillion – latest UNCTAD estimates. (2020, April 27). UNCTAD. URL: https://unctad.org/press-material/global-e-commerce-hits-256-trillion-latest-unctad-estimates.

14. Shi L., Mai Y., Wu Y. J. Digital transformation. Journal of Organizational and End User Computing. 2022. Vol. 34, no. 7. P. 1–20. URL: https://doi.org/10.4018/joeuc.302637

15. Aggarwal R., Verma T., Singh G., Singh A. Digital Entrepreneurship: Future Directions. In Nova Science Publishers eBooks. 2024. URL: https://doi.org/10.52305/fytz7746.

16. Ghezzi A., Cavallo A. Agile Business Model Innovation in Digital entrepreneurship: Lean Startup Approaches. Journal of Business Research. 2018. Vol. 110. P. 519–537. URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.06.013.

17. Richter C., Kraus S., Brem A., Durst S., Giselbrecht C. Digital entrepreneurship: Innovative business models for the sharing economy. Creativity and Innovation Management. 2017. Vol. 26, no. 3. P. 300–310. URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12227.

18. Kraus S., Palmer C., Kailer N., Kallinger F. L., Spitzer J. Digital entrepreneurship: A research agenda on new business models for the twenty-first century. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research. 2019. Vol. 25, no. 2. P. 353–375. URL: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-06-2018-0425.

19. Bican P. M., Brem A. Digital business model, digital transformation, digital entrepreneurship: Is there a sustainable “Digital”? Sustainability. 2020. Vol. 12, no. 13. Paper ID 5239. URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135239.

20. Steininger D. M. Linking information systems and entrepreneurship: A review and agenda for IT‐associated and digital entrepreneurship research. Information Systems Journal. 2018. Vol. 29, no. 2. P. 363–407. URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12206.

21. Ghezzi A. Digital startups and the adoption and implementation of Lean Startup Approaches: Effectuation, Bricolage and Opportunity Creation in practice. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 2019. Vol. 146. P. 945–960. URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.09.017.

22. Gavrila Gavrila S., de Lucas Ancillo A. Spanish SMEs’ digitalization enablers: E-Receipt applications to the offline retail market. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 2021. Vol. 162. Paper ID 120381. URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120381.

23. Richter C., Kraus S., Syrjä P. The shareconomy as a precursor for digital entrepreneurship business models. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business. 2015. Vol. 25, no. 1. P. 18–35. URL: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJESB.2015.068773.

24. Tranfield D., Denyer D., Smart P. Towards a Methodology for Developing Evidence: Informed Management Knowledge by Means of Systematic Review. British Journal of Management. 2003. Vol. 14. P. 207-222. URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.00375.

25. Oliveira S. R. M., Trento S. Technological innovation capability of business incubators and digital entrepreneurship performance in an innovation ecosystem. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management. 2023. Vol. 27, no. 3/4. P. 173–207. URL: https://doi.org/10.1504/ijeim.2023.133379.

Published

2025-06-20

Issue

Section

Entrepreneurship, Trade and Exchange Activities

How to Cite

Matiushenko, O. and Tiutiunyk, I. (2025) “Global trends in the development of digital entrepreneurship business models: a bibliometric analysis”, Management and Entrepreneurship: Trends of Development, 2(32), pp. 206–220. doi:10.26661/2522-1566/2025-2/32-17.