Technology rewind: The emergence of the analog entrepreneurial ecosystem

Abstract

Research has focused on the ecosystems of forces that influence how organizations pursue opportunities in new industries, nascent markets, and novel technologies. However, there is an emerging, but unstudied, ecosystem supporting entrepreneurial activities in legacy industries, mature markets, and based on (seemingly) obsolete technologies—the analog entrepreneurial ecosystem (AEE). To develop a framework to explain this phenomenon and guide entrepreneurs and managers operating in this ecosystem, a theory of the AEE is proposed. The theory explains the ecosystem’s main components and delineates the forces driving its emergence. The model contributes to research on ecosystems, technology reemergence, and management in mature markets and has implications for organizations pursuing opportunities outside the digital ecosystem and based on legacy products.

Digital ecosystem, entrepreneurial ecosystem and economic development as enablers of digital technology entrepreneurship

“…As the intensity of digital transformation and adoption of digital technologies are increasing across the world, it is likely that DE is going to rise in the coming years. Previous research has underscored the enabling role of digital technologies in fostering innovation and entrepreneurial endeavours (Bejjani et al, 2023; Roundy, 2022; Zaheer et al, 2019). Entrepreneurship has undergone notable evolution since the advent of digitization, leveraging novel business opportunities and augmenting existing business models (Beltagui et al, 2020; Kraus et al, 2019).…”