Keywords
DEE index
Central Eastern European region
Russia
How to Cite
Abstract
While the economic transition from a planned economy to a market economy seems to be over for most countries after 25 years, a socialist heritage could have long lasting effects. In this paper we aim to answer to the following two research questions: (1) How deeply have Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries proceeded in digital entrepreneurship? (2) Are there some specific digital entrepreneurship characteristics of the CEE countries that can be explained by their socialist heritage? We applied the Digital Entrepreneurship Ecosystem (DEE) Index methodology that relies upon a dataset for 170 countries to evaluate the former socialist CEE countries’ performance in the development of a digital entrepreneurship ecosystem. The non-EU Western countries are the best performers in Europe, but Western EU member states are close behind. The Southern European country group’s performance is close to the EU CEE country cluster, implying that these countries have caught up with most Southern European countries in their DEE development. The former SU country group and the non-EU Balkan country groups are very similar to each other. We also examined the four sub-indices and the twelve pillars and concluded that DEE scores vary significantly among European countries, but these differences can be explained by economic development and not the long-lasting effects of the socialist system. We also provided a detailed DEE profile for Russia, which explains Russia’s modest performance in the development of a digital entrepreneurship ecosystem.
References
Абалакин А.А., Яковлев А.В., Акименко В.А., Денисова Е.В. (2023) Развитие цифрового сегмента российского предпринимательства в условиях пандемии. Вестник Кемеровского государственного университета. Серия: Политические, социологические и экономические науки, 8(2), 148-159. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21603/2500-3372-2023-8-2-148-159
Левченко Т.А., Конвисарова Е.В. (2022) Развитие цифровой экономики России в контексте мировых трендов. Вестник Астраханского государственного технического университета. Серия: Экономика, 2, 34-41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24143/2073-5537-2022-2-34-41
Жуликов С.Е., Жуликова О.В. (2022) Цифровое развитие российских регионов. Россия: общество, политика, история, 3(3), 124-141. DOI: https://doi.org/10.56654/ROPI-2022-3(3)-124-141
Чепуренко А. (2017) Предпринимательская активность в постсоциалистических странах Европы: методология и ограничения исследования. Форсайт, 11(3), 11-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17323/2500-2597.2017.3.11.24
Acs Z.J., Song A.K., Szerb L., Audretsch D.B., Komlosi E. (2021) The evolution of the global digital platform economy: 1971-2021. Small Business Economics, 57, 1629-1659. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-021-00561-x
Ageev A.I., Gratchev M.V., Hisrich R. D. (1995) Entrepreneurship in the Soviet Union and Post-socialist Russia. Small Business Economics, 7, 365-376. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01302737
Aghion P., Blanchard O.J., Carlin W. (1997) The economics of enterprise restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe. In: Property Relations, Incentives and Welfare: Proceedings of a Conference held in Barcelona, Spain, by the International Economic Association (ed. J. Roemer), London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 271-325.
Aidis R., Estrin S., Mickiewicz T. (2008) Institutions and entrepreneurship development in Russia: A comparative perspective. Journal of Business Venturing, 23(6), 656-672. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2008.01.005
Aldrich H.E. (2014) The democratization of entrepreneurship? Hackers, Makerspaces, and Crowdfunding. Paper presented at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2014.10622symposium
Askerov P.F., Medvedeva A.M., Rabadanov A.R., Bogdanova I.M., Zvezdichev G.J. (2018) Digital Economy as a priority direction for the development of modern innovative entrepreneurship in Russia. Espacios, 39(41), 30.
Bałtowski M., Kozarzewski P., Mickiewicz T. (2022) State capitalism with populist characteristics: Poland and Hungary. In: The Oxford Handbook of State Capitalism and the Firm (eds. M.Wright, G.T. Wood, A. Cuervo-Cazurra, P. Sun, I. Okhmatovskiy, A. Grosman), Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 750-784.
Baumol W.J. (1990) Entrepreneurship: Productive, unproductive and destructive. Journal of Political Economy, 98(5), 893-921. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2937617?origin=JSTOR-pdf.
Bharadwaj A., Sawy O.A.E., Pavlou P.A., Venkatraman N. (2013) Digital business strategy: Toward a next generation of insights. MIS Quarterly, 37 (2), 471-482. :2.3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25300/MISQ/2013/37
Bideleux R. (2014) Contrasting responses to the international economic crisis of 2008-10 in the 11 CIS countries and in the 10 post-communist EU member countries. In: The International Economic Crisis and the Post-Soviet States (eds. V. Feklyunina, S. White), New York: Routledge, pp. 4-29.
Blanchard O. (1996) Theoretical aspects of transition. The American Economic Review, 86(2), 117-122. https://www.jstor.org/stable/211810.
Blyth M. (2002) Great transformations: Economic ideas and institutional change in the twentieth century, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Brodny J., Tutak M. (2022) The Level of Digitization of Small, Medium and Large Enterprises in the Central and Eastern European Countries and Its Relationship with Economic Parameters. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 8(3), 113. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc8030113
BTI (2024) BTI 2024 codebook for country assessment, Gütersloh (GE): Bertelsmann Stiftung.
Chepurenko A., Szanyi M. (2022) Parallel processes and divergent outcomes: The transformation of the economies of former Socialist countries. In: The Routledge Handbook of Comparative Economic Systems (eds. B. Dallago, S. Casagrande), New York: Routledge, pp. 411-432.
Chui M., Issler M., Roberts R., Yee L. (2023) Technology Trends Outlook 2023, Chicago, IL: McKinsey & Company.
Csaba L. (2005) The New Political Economy of Emerging Europe, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiad.
De Melo M., Denizer C., Gelb A.H. (1996) From Plan to Market - Pattern of Transition, Washington, D.C.: World Bank Publications.
Dilli S., Elert N., Herrmann A.M. (2018) Varieties of entrepreneurship: exploring the institutional foundations of different entrepreneurship types through 'Varieties-of-Capitalism' arguments. Small Business Economics, 51, 293-320. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-018-0002-z
Dwivedi Y.K., Hughes L., Ismagilova E., Aarts G., Coombs C., Crick T., Duan Y., Edwards J., Eirug A., Galanos V., Ilavarasan P.V., Janssen M., Jones P., Kumar Kar A., Kizgin H., Kronemann B., Lal B., Lucini B., Medaglia R., Williams M.D. (2021) Artificial Intelligence (AI): Multidisciplinary perspectives on emerging challenges, opportunities, and agenda for research, practice and policy. International Journal of Information Management, 57, 101994. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.08.002
Dyba W., Loewen B., Looga J., Zdražil P. (2018) Regional development in Central-Eastern European Countries at the beginning of the 21st century: Path dependence and effects of EU Cohesion Policy. Quaestiones Geographicae, 37(2), 77-92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/quageo-2018-0017
Ekbia H.R. (2009) Digital artifacts as quasi-objects: qualification, mediation, and materiality. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 60(12), 2554-2566. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.21189
Elia G., Margherita A., Passiante G. (2020) Digital entrepreneurship ecosystem: How digital technologies and collective intelligence are reshaping the entrepreneurial process. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 150, 119791. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2019.11979
Estrin S., Meyer K.E., Bytchkova M. (2006) Entrepreneurship in transition economies. In: The Oxford Handbook of Entrepreneurship (eds. M. Casson, B. Yeung, A. Basu, N. Wadeson), Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 693-725.
Estrin S., Mickiewicz T. (2011) Entrepreneurship in transition economies: The role of institutions and generational change. In: The dynamics of entrepreneurship: Evidence from the global entrepreneurship monitor data (ed. M. Minniti), Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 181-208. :oso/9780199580866.003.0009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof
European Commission (2015) Digital Transformation of European Industry and Enterprises, Brussels: European Commission.
Farkas B. (2016) Models of Capitalism in the European Union: Post-crisis Perspectives, London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Gao J., Gruhn V., He J., Roussos G., Tsai W.T. (2013) Mobile cloud computing research-issues, challenges and needs. In: Proceedings of the 2013 IEEE Seventh International Symposium on Service-Oriented System Engineering, 25-28 March 2013, Redwood City, California, USA, Piscathaway, NJ: IEEE, pp. 442-453.
Gevorkyan A.V. (2018) Transition economies: Transformation, development, and society in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, New York: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315736747
Gritsenko D., Kopotev M., Wijermars M. (2021) Digital Russia Studies: An Introduction. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Digital Russia Studies (eds. D. Gritsenko, M. Wijermars, M. Kopotev), Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 1-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42855-6_1
Győrffy D. (2022) The middle-income trap in Central and Eastern Europe in the 2010s: Institutions and divergent growth models. Comparative European Politics, 20(1), 90-113. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41295-021-00264-3
Hargittai E. (2002) Second-level digital divide: Differences in people's online skills. First Monday, 7(4), 1-19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v7i4.942
Havrylyshyn O. (2009) Is the transition over? (Queen's Economics Department Working Paper No. 1209), Kingston (CA): Queen's University.
Huang R. (2023) SDG-oriented sustainability assessment for Central and Eastern European countries. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, 19,100268. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indic.2023.100268
Ivlevs A., Nikolova M., Popova O. (2021) Former Communist party membership and present-day entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 57, 1783-1800. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-020-00364-6
Kallinikos J., Aaltonen A., Marton A. (2013) The ambivalent ontology of digital artifacts. MIS Quarterly, 37(2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.25300/MISQ/2013/37.2.02
Kelly K. (2016) The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future, New York: Penguin Books.
Kenney M., Zysman J. (2016) The rise of the platform economy. Issues in Science & Technology, 32(3), 61-69.
Kitov I.O. (2009) Modelling the evolution of real per capita during the transition from a socialist to capitalist economic system. Journal of Applied Economic Sciences, 4(4), 526-548.
Kobzev V., Izmaylov M., Skvortsov S., Capo D. (2020) Digital transformation in the Russian industry: Key aspects, prospects and trends. Paper presented at the International Scientific Conference - Digital Transformation on Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Service, November 18-19, 2020, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3446434.3446451
Kollmann T., Kleine-Stegemann L., de Cruppe K., Then-Bergh C. (2022) Eras of digital entrepreneurship: Connecting the past, present, and future. Business & Information Systems Engineering, 64, 15-31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-021-00728-6
Kornai J. (2006) The great transformation of Central Eastern Europe. Economics of Transition, 14(2), 207-244. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0351.2006.00252.x
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 Behavior & Research, 25(2), 353-375. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-06-2018-0425
Kreuzer T., Lindenthal A.K., Oberlaender A., Röglinger M. (2022) The Effects of Digital Technology on Opportunity Recognition. Business & Information Systems Engineering, 64(1), 47-67. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-021-00733-9
Lazar D., Minea A., Purcel A.A. (2019) Pollution and economic growth: evidence from central and eastern European countries. Energy Economics, 81, 1121-1131. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2019.05.011
Lowry A. (2022) Russia's Digital Economy Program: An Effective Strategy for Digital Transformation? In: The Palgrave Handbook of Digital Russia Studies (eds. D. Gritsenko, M. Wijermars, M. Kopotev), Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 53-75.
Lukashov N.V., Lukashova S.S., Latov Y.V. (2021) Paradoxes of the Russian digitalization programs. Journal of Institutional Studies, 13(1), 115-134. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17835/2076-6297.2021.13.1.115-134
Magyar B., Madlovics B. (2020) The Anatomy of Post-Communist Regimes, Budapest and New York: CEU Press.
Makasheva N.A. (2012) Economic science after the crisis: What will change? Social Sciences and Modernity, 6, 73-86.
McMillan J., Woodruff C. (2002) The central role of entrepreneurs in transition economies. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 16(3), 153-170. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1257/089533002760278767
Medve-Bálint G. (2014) The role of the EU in shaping FDI flows in Central Europe. Journal of Common Market Studies, 52(1), 35-51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.12077
Nambisan S. (2017) Digital entrepreneurship: Toward a digital technology perspective of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 41(6), 1029-1055. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12254
Obraztsova O., Chepurenko A. (2020) Entrepreneurial activity in Russia and its cross-regional differences. Journal of the New Economic Association, 46(2), 198-210. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31737/2221-2264-2020-46-2-12
Paul J., Alhassan I., Binsaif N., Singh P. (2023) Digital entrepreneurship research: A systematic review. Journal of Business Research, 156, 113507. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113507
Sachs J.D. (1996) The transition at mid decade. The American Economic Review, 86(2), 128-133. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2118109?origin=JSTOR-pdf.
Sahut J.M., Iandoli L., Teulon F. (2021) The age of digital entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 56, 1159-1169. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-019-00260-8
Scheerder A., van Deursen A., van Dijk J. (2017) Determinants of internet skills, uses and outcomes: A systematic review of the second- and third-level digital divide. Telematics and Informatics, 34(8), 1607-1624. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2017.07.007
Shen K.N., Lindsay V., Xu Y. (2018) Digital entrepreneurship. Information Systems Journal, 28 (6), 1125-1128. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12219
Song A.K. (2019) The Digital Entrepreneurial Ecosystem - A critique and reconfiguration. Small Business Economics, 53(3), 569-590. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-019-00232-y
Stratu-Strelet D., Gil-Gómez H., Oltra-Badenes R., Oltra-Gutierrez J.V. (2023) Developing a theory of full democratic consolidation: Exploring the links between democracy and digital transformation in developing eastern European countries. Journal of Business Research, 157, 113543. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113543
Sussan F., Acs Z.J. (2017) The digital entrepreneurial ecosystem. Small Business Economics, 49(1), 55-73. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-017-9867-5
Szanyi M. (2022) The emergence of patronage and changing forms of rent seeking in East Central Europe. Post-communist Economies, 34(1), 122-141. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14631377.2019.1693738
Szerb L., Trumbull W.N. (2016) The development of entrepreneurship in the European transition countries: Is transition complete? Strategic Change, 25(2), 109-129. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jsc.2051
Szerb L., Trumbull W.N. (2018) Entrepreneurship development in Russia: Is Russia a normal country? An empirical analysis. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 25(6), 902-929. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-01-2018-0033
Szerb L., Ortega-Argilés R., Acs Z.J., Komlósi É. (2020) Optimizing entrepreneurial development processes for smart specialization in the European Union. Papers in Regional Science, 99(5), 1413-1458. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/pirs.12536
Trașcă D.L., Ștefan G.M., Sahlian D.N., Hoinaru R., Șerban-Oprescu G.-L. (2019) Digitalization and Business Activity. The Struggle to Catch Up in CEE Countries. Sustainability, 11(8), 2204. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082204
Zahra S.A., Liu W., Si S. (2023) How digital technology promotes entrepreneurship in ecosystems. Technovation, 119, 102457. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2022.102457
Zhao F., Collier A. (2016) Digital Entrepreneurship: Research and Practice. In: 9th Annual Conference of the EuroMed Academy of Business Proceedings, Napoli: EuroMed Academy of Business, pp. 2173-2182.
Van Dijk J.A. (2017) Digital divide: Impact of access. In: The International Encyclopedia of Media Effects, New York: Wiley, pp. 1-11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118783764.wbieme0043
Veselovsky M.Y., Izmailova M.A., Bogoviz A.V., Lobova S.V., Alekseev A.N. (2017) Business Environment in Russia and its Stimulating Influence on Innovation Activity of Domestic Companies. Journal of Applied Economic Sciences, 12(7), 1967-1981.
Welter F., Smallbone D. (2017) Entrepreneurship and enterprise strategies in transition economies: An institutional perspective. In: Small Firms and Economic Development in Developed and Transition Economies (eds. D. Kirby, A. Watson), New York: Routledge, pp. 95-113. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315192451-7
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.