Conceptualising Digital Entrepreneurship: Artifacts, Platforms and Infrastructures

Abstract

In this paper we explore how, in the digital age, the micro-level activities of digital entrepreneurs in new venture creation continue to digitally transform and disrupt economic systems at the macro-level. As digital entrepreneurship and other typologies of entrepreneurship in the digital age become increasingly fuzzy, this paper sets out to define the digital entrepreneurship domain – what it is, what is it not and why it is disruptive and distinct. By unbundling the roles of the differing digital technologies at play, we bring much needed clarity to a domain currently noted for its conceptual fuzziness. Our framework, developed from our research, gives academics and practitioners alike a clearer and more accessible way to understand the digital entrepreneurship domain.