Theory and Practice Management and Organization Studies

1 Introduction

Today, the concept of digital entrepreneurship, which emerged due to rapid developments in digital technologies, is expressed as the transformation of business processes. Digital entrepreneurship is a model where technology is incorporated to develop business ideas. The widespread use of the internet has had an impact on the emergence of digital entrepreneurship. The digital entrepreneurship process, which includes online marketing techniques and digital technologies in the presentation of products and services, has an impact on the success of strategic management. Businesses that gain competitive power using digital technologies stand out by providing advantages such as rapid growth, global access, innovation, differentiation and low cost.

The increasing importance of technology and its intensive incorporation into daily life has brought about changes in society and the economy. Entrepreneurship, which has the power to create business opportunities, is significantly affected by technology (Winterton, 2002). Digitalization, which causes a change in the way entrepreneurs do business and is effective in the development of different business models, also plays an important role in the emergence of new business lines. Entrepreneurship is defined as the process by which individuals seize opportunities to meet needs through uniqueness and innovation to create value and growth with available resources (Coulter and Robbins, 2003:42). As the definition suggests, the purpose of traditional entrepreneurship is to recognize opportunities, take risks and create value to transform these opportunities into services or goods (Hull et al., 2007).

The entrepreneurship model, which depends on the resources of digital technology, has brought the concept of digital entrepreneurship. Digital entrepreneurship, which brings technology together with entrepreneurial movements, has emerged as a new concept that brings radical changes in the current order of economies and industries (Hansen, 2019).

Digital entrepreneurship is an important key factor in innovation and the economy. Creativity, innovation and strategic thinking, which are at the heart of this active environment, have an impact on the renewal of the business world and consequently on the focus of investors and entrepreneurs. Digital entrepreneurship (Le Dinh et al., 2018), which includes value creation activities in existing or new ways, can be defined as the business-side commercial applications of digital technologies and the value transformation process (Sussan and Acs, 2017; Elia et al., 2020; Nambisan and Baron, 2021).

The unlimited potential of digital entrepreneurship is reorienting existing markets and pioneering the emergence of new markets. In this section of the book, the concept of digital entrepreneurship is examined in depth to provide a perspective on the opportunities and challenges in this field and its reflections on the strategic management process.

2 Concept and Definition of Digital Entrepreneurship

Digital entrepreneurship, which has emerged as a new form of entrepreneurship that fundamentally changes the shape of the economy, economic growth and the organization of sectors, includes value creation activities in the existing or new order (Hansen; 2019, Le Dinh et al., 2018). Digital entrepreneurship refers to the use of digital technologies as a tool for organizational innovation and acts as the commercial application and value transformation of digital technologies from a business perspective (Sussan and Acs, 2017; Le Dinh et al., 2018; Nambisan and Baron, 2021).

Guthrie (2014) states that digital business is the sale of products or services over electronic networks. In the literature, the concept of digital entrepreneurship was first included in the studies on digital technologies and the concept of entrepreneurship, but the ambiguities in the conceptualization of the term made it difficult to make a clear definition of the concept. In the following periods, the increasing interest in the field and the rapid spread of digitalization led to the need to define the concept in depth (Zhao and Collier, 2016: 2175).

In this context, it has become possible to find many definitions in the literature today. It is possible to find many definitions related to the concept of digital entrepreneurship, which emerged with the development of information and communication technology. Hull et al. (2007) define digital entrepreneurship as the digitization of some or all the activities in the organization. Beckman et al. (2012) describe innovation to take advantage of opportunities arising from technological developments as digital entrepreneurship. Hair et al. (2012) defines it as the realization of some or all traditional entrepreneurship digitally rather than through traditional practices. According to Rashidi et al. (2013), digital entrepreneurship is the use of internet and information tools for business. Ferreira et al. (2016) define it as a process that is integrated with innovation in which entrepreneurship and technology are fundamentally involved. Digital entrepreneurship is defined as selling products or services to customers electronically (Guthrie, 2015:115).

Digital entrepreneurship can be expressed as a fundamental part of technological developments in product development and value creation. Nambisan (2017) emphasized that this field will be an important area in terms of the studies to be carried out within the framework of entrepreneurship by addressing how entrepreneurship opportunities are created and implemented in the world where digitalization is increasing. In other words, the intersection of digital technologies and entrepreneurship is defined as digital entrepreneurship (Du et al., 2018:2).

3 Importance and Development of Digital Entrepreneurship

Digital entrepreneurship is of great importance in a rapidly digitalizing world, radically changing the way of doing business. The possibilities offered by the Internet and digital technologies allow entrepreneurs to quickly realize their innovative ideas and reach large audiences. This reduces costs, facilitates access to global markets, and offers flexible business models, developing more efficient and effective ways of doing business than traditional entrepreneurship methods (Hansen, 2019: 38–39). At the same time, digital entrepreneurship makes it possible to personalize customer experiences by optimizing business processes with advanced technologies such as data analytics and artificial intelligence and supports sustainable growth by providing competitive advantage.

Digital entrepreneurship is seen as an entirely new field of practice given the innovative and unique characteristics of the internet and technologies. These information technologies and skills are critical to the identification and success of new business models for globalizing markets (Vorbach et al., 2019: 547–548).

In a developing and changing world, digital entrepreneurship is indispensable for businesses and entrepreneurs who do not want to stay away from what the age brings. The phenomenon that occurs through technological assets such as the Internet, information and communication technology is referred to as digital entrepreneurship (Le Dinh et al., 2018:5). When we look at the development of digital entrepreneurship in today’s markets where technological advances are accelerating day by day, it is seen that factors such as the spread of internet and mobile technologies, the use of cloud computing in all areas, the effective use of artificial intelligence and big data, developments in e-commerce dynamics, globalizing markets and competition are the most effective variables (Nambisan, 2017: 1034, Zhao and Collier, 2016: 2158).

The development of digital entrepreneurship has accelerated thanks to the opportunities provided by technology and the internet and has realized a significant transformation in the business world. New-age entrepreneurs are developing innovative business models using digital tools and platforms and gaining rapid access to global markets. Social media platforms, e-commerce sites and mobile applications have paved the way for the emergence of new business models and the transformation of traditional ways of doing business. It can be said that digital entrepreneurship has developed effectively and rapidly in the application areas where this innovation and transformation is experienced (Rashidi, 2013: 2).

Emerging technologies became more noticeable in early 2020. Accordingly, it is seen that digital entrepreneurship is developing in the design of new products, the use of electronic devices and in many sectors, especially in the services sector (Richter, Kraus, Bouncken, 2017; Panetta, 2017).

The most important factor in the development and spread of digital entrepreneurship is accessibility. The proliferation of the internet and technology has created a more accessible space, allowing entrepreneurs to reach a global market at low costs. Digital entrepreneurs have thus been able to quickly realize their business ideas and initiatives. In addition, digital platforms and social media offered by the internet and technology have facilitated marketing and customer relationship management and supported the emergence of innovative business models (Block et al., 2020: 397).

Another important issue in the development of digital entrepreneurship has been the investments, support and incentives of governments and the private sector in the digital economy. Ecosystems that encourage entrepreneurs to realize their new ideas have enabled the development of more digital enterprise ideas (Ballı, 2020: 1060).

4 Digital Entrepreneurship in Business Model Approach: Opportunities and Challenges

The concept of business model has gained popularity in the literature with electronic business models and digital business models that have developed with the emergence of electronic commerce. With business models, businesses gain more flexibility in the coordination of value creation processes by utilising digital technologies (Sahut et al., 2021). Thus, the development in business models has started to be more associated with the strategies of businesses and entrepreneurship and has gone beyond the traditional value chain.

In the business model approach, digital entrepreneurship is an important theme. Because according to the business model approach, a business model reflects how a new venture aims to create digital value. Business models can be developed for any business, regardless of size or digitality, but today existing business models are facilitated by digital technologies. Digital technologies such as online payment methods, online accessibility, etc. increase the applicability and efficiency of business models, reduce transaction costs and provide more innovative solutions in the value creation process (Kraus et al., 2019; Elia et al., 2020). In digital entrepreneurship, digital business models determine how to create and distribute value using digital or non-digital competences.

Digital entrepreneurship is the creation of business opportunities using digital technologies. There are various advantages that digital entrepreneurship offers to businesses using digital technologies compared to traditional entrepreneurship. The most important opportunity in business models created using digital technologies is to benefit from flexible revenue models. Freemium and subscription models can be given as examples. Revenue can be generated through targeted advertisements using digital platforms (Sahut et al., 2021).

The internet, one of the digital technologies, turns digital entrepreneurs into global born businesses. Thus, it offers access to large markets and marketing opportunities. Brand awareness can be increased through SEO, SEM, social media and e-mail marketing methods. Operational processes can be automated using various digital tools, thus increasing efficiency. Costs and expenses can be reduced by utilizing online business models without being limited to physical space. By its very nature, digital entrepreneurship facilitates the development of innovative products and services (Samara and Terzian, 2021).