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

María J. Ibáñez, Maribel Guerrero (), Claudia Yáñez-Valdés and Sebastián Barros-Celume
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María J. Ibáñez: Universidad del Desarrollo
Maribel Guerrero: Universidad del Desarrollo
Claudia Yáñez-Valdés: Universidad del Desarrollo
Sebastián Barros-Celume: Universidad del Desarrollo

The Journal of Technology Transfer, 2022, vol. 47, issue 2, No 9, 556-579

Abstract: Abstract 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.

Keywords: Stakeholders theory; Digital social entrepreneurship; N-Helix collaboration; Knowledge transfer; Technology transfer; COVID-19 pandemic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F62 I18 I23 L26 L31 O31 O33 O35 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10961-021-09855-4

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