Aug 2026· Problems and Perspectives in Management· Vol 24, pp. 373–391-0· 0 citations· 46 references
TL;DR
This study examines the association between multidimensional digital transformation and national startup ecosystem performance across 23 European Union economies, comparing EU11 with 12 selected EU15 economies from 2017 to 2024.
Abstract
Type of the article: Research ArticleAbstractThis study examines the association between multidimensional digital transformation and national startup ecosystem performance across 23 European Union economies, comparing EU11 with 12 selected EU15 economies from 2017 to 2024. The balanced panel contains 184 country-year observations. Principal component analysis is used to construct three composite indicators: the Digital Services Index, Digital Connectivity Index, and Digital Human Capital Index. The indices demonstrate satisfactory factorial adequacy, internal consistency, and one-component structures supported by parallel analysis. Their associations with startup ecosystem performance are estimated using two-way fixed-effects models. Because the panel contains only 23 country clusters, the principal inference uses CR2 bias-reduced country-clustered standard errors with Satterthwaite-adjusted degrees of freedom. In the full-sample specification, DSI has a positive but only marginally significant association with startup ecosystem performance (β = 0.0834, p = 0.082), while DCI, DHCI, and e-government are statistically insignificant. R&D intensity has a negative contemporaneous coefficient that is also marginally significant (β = −0.0145, p = 0.053). Regional heterogeneity is jointly significant and is concentrated primarily in digital connectivity: DCI is negatively associated with startup ecosystem performance in the EU11 group, whereas its total slope is approximately zero in the selected EU15 group. DHCI has a positive total slope within the selected EU15 group, although the difference between the EU15 and EU11 slopes is not statistically significant. A one-year-lagged specification produces a positive but marginal DSI coefficient and does not identify statistically significant associations for the remaining predictors. These estimates should be interpreted as conditional associations rather than causal effects.
This article presents a comparative assessment of digital transformation pathways in ASEAN economies, taking into account both the level and the structural composition of digitalization within the region. The study draws on internationally comparable data and advances an original temporal–taxonomic analytical approach based on the composite CMG indicator, which integrates three core dimensions of digital transformation: connectivity, market, and governance–sustainability-trust areas. The focus on Southeast Asian economies is substantively justified by the region’s pronounced heterogeneity in economic development, institutional capacities, and digitalization outcomes, combined with its strategic importance as one of the most dynamic emerging regions where digital transformation plays a pivotal role in shaping long-term growth trajectories and structural convergence prospects. The novelty of the research lies in the construction and application of the research tool: the CMG indicator—as a transparent and replicable measurement framework designed to enable the simultaneous analysis of the intensity of digitalization and its internal structure. Such an approach addresses key limitations of existing digitalization indicators when employed in dynamic and structure-oriented comparative research. Moreover, the integration of synthetic measurement techniques with cluster analysis allows for the identification of distinct digitalization profiles among ASEAN countries and for tracing their differentiated development trajectories under conditions of accelerated digital transformation. The results reveal substantial heterogeneity in digital transformation processes across the region, arising from the combined influence of differences in economic development levels, institutional conditions, market structures, and regulatory frameworks, which jointly shape national digitalization trajectories. The analysis identifies both advanced and relatively stabilized digitalization profiles, as well as catch-up pathways characterized by rapid improvements in digital infrastructure and regulatory environments. The conducted research demonstrates a clear value added resulting from the proposed coherent measurement framework, which enables the analysis of digital transformation from both temporal and taxonomic perspectives and provides new empirical evidence on emerging economies. The findings also have practical relevance, offering insights for the design of context-sensitive digital strategies aimed at reducing structural disparities and supporting inclusive and sustainable digital development in Southeast Asia.
Barbara Siuta-Tokarska, I. Yusuf, Małgorzata Kowalik et al.· Sustainability· 0 citations
Type of the article: Research ArticleAbstractThis study analyzes the impact of digitalization, green transformation, financial access, and institutional support on agricultural labor productivity in transition economies of Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. Panel data for six countries (2000–2024) were examined using fixed and random effects models, with robustness checks using the Driscoll–Kraay estimator. Results show that digitalization and financial access consistently enhance productivity at the panel level (0.141; p < 0.01), while institutional factors do not show a consistent direct effect once temporal trends are removed (0.050, p > 0.05), though they may strengthen resilience indirectly. In contrast, the Green Index exerts a significant negative effect (–1.848; p < 0.01), reflecting substantial transitional costs of ecological modernization. Country fixed effects reveal heterogeneity: Moldova (+0.1106) shows the highest positive deviation, while Armenia (–0.0365), Azerbaijan (–0.0749), and Kazakhstan (–0.0382) exhibit negative deviations. Ukraine (+0.0176) and Georgia (+0.0028) remain close to the panel mean. Country specific regressions reveal both commonalities and divergences. In Moldova, institutional quality (0.265, p < 0.001), digitalization (0.033, p = 0.026), and green practices (–0.462, p < 0.001) significantly shape productivity, while finance is excluded. In Armenia, institutional quality (0.469, p = 0.001) and green practices (–0.502, p = 0.001) remain significant, but finance enters negatively (–0.855, p = 0.050), and digitalization is excluded. Digitalization and finance are immediate productivity enhancers at the regional level, but their role varies by country. Ecological modernization imposes short term costs and requires compensatory policies.AcknowledgmentsThe authors acknowledge the financial support received for the implementation of the project “Accelerating the Digital and Green Transformation of Agri-Food SMEs in Moldova and Armenia”, funded by the National Agency for Research and Development of the Republic of Moldova (NARD) (Project No. 26.80013.0807.05ARM) and the Higher Education and Science Committee of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia (Project No. 26NARD-1D007).
Alexandru Stratan, Tatul M. Mkrtchyan, Liliana Staver et al.· Environmental Economics· 0 citations
This study contributes to the literature on the circular economy (CE) and small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) by advancing both theory and empirical evidence on the role of contextual factors. Theoretically, it refines institutional and cultural contingency perspectives by showing that national innovation systems and societal norms do not uniformly enhance the effectiveness of financial support for CE adoption. Instead, these contextual factors shape the impact of public and private financial resources in an asymmetric and selective manner. By jointly considering formal institutions, such as a country's innovation level, and informal institutions, such as social indulgence, the study offers a more nuanced framework to explain cross‐country variation in SMEs' engagement with CE practices. Empirically, the study analyses Flash Eurobarometer data from 26 European Union countries collected in 2015, 2017 and 2021. The results indicate that greater public and private financial support is associated with higher levels of CE engagement among SMEs. In addition, the findings reveal that national innovation levels positively moderate the relationship between public financial support and CE actions, whereas social indulgence negatively moderates the relationship between public support and CE development. Overall, the study provides comparative evidence highlighting the importance of tailoring financial support policies to national institutional and cultural contexts.
L. Fuentelsaz, Mercedes Gil-Lamata, Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour· European Management Review· 0 citations
Objectives: This paper examines the impact of national Innovation Capability (ICI), a composite index based on R&D spending, high-technology export intensity and digital infrastructure penetration, on economic performance, measured by GDP per capita. It also poses a question about the control of institutional quality and the mediation of digital infrastructure diffusion to the relationship.
Design/Methodology/Approach: This analysis is based on a balanced panel of 50 countries from 2010 to 2022 (663 country-year observations overall) created using World Bank World Development Indicators (WDI) and OECD Statistics. The empirical approach includes Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimation, two-way fixed effects (TWFE), a two-stage least squares (2SLS) instrumental variable approach inspired by the System GMM and formal mediation analysis following the Baron-Kenny-Sobel framework. Moderation effects are allowed for by the inclusion of interaction terms and non-linear dynamics are explored in the quadratic specification.
Results: ICI has a positive and significant impact on national income both in the OLS baseline model (β = 1.052, p < 0.001) and in the fixed effects model (β = 0.734, p < 0.001), indicating that the impact of ICI is positive and economically significant. The quality of the institutions significantly interacts with this relationship (β_interaction = −0.924, p < 0.001); the returns to innovation are partly dependent on, and moderated by, the institutional context. The mediation analysis indicates that the total effect of digital infrastructure on economic performance (internet penetration) is 76.0% (95% CI: (74.7%, 77.4%)), and the non-linear estimation reveals a negative effect of ICI when the capability level is high (β_ICI² = −0.115, 95% CI: (−0.119, −0.112), p < 0.001). These findings are robust to alternative specifications, endogeneity corrections and subsamples.
Originality/Value: The study has three contributions. It develops and validates a multi-dimensional Innovation Capability Index for cross-national analysis that connects the Resource Based View and Dynamic Capabilities Theory at the macro level. It also sheds light on the mediating role of digital infrastructure, which is something that has received very little research attention in macro-innovation-performance research. Lastly, it reveals how the ICI-performance relationship is heterogeneous across institutions, presenting different policy implications for emerging economies and advanced economies.
Sayyed Sadaqat Hussain Shah, Rafiq Mansoor· SOCIAL PRISM· 0 citations
This study examines whether the relationship between financial development and energy intensity in the European Union depends on the level of digitalization. Using a balanced panel of 27 EU member states over the period 2007–2019, we estimate two-way fixed effects models with Driscoll–Kraay standard errors and an interaction term between financial development and digitalization. The results indicate that financial development alone is not meaningfully associated with within-country variation in energy intensity. By contrast, its interaction with digitalization is negatively associated with energy intensity under the preferred Driscoll–Kraay specification, indicating that the estimated association between financial development and energy intensity becomes more negative as digitalization rises. The interaction provides the largest incremental increase in within-R2 among the sequential specifications, although the absolute improvement is modest (Δ within-R2 = 0.016) and its statistical significance is sensitive to country-clustered inference and country-specific linear trend controls. Renewable energy provides limited additional explanatory power without altering the main relationship. Overall, these results are best interpreted as suggestive rather than definitive evidence of a conditional association, underscoring the importance of considering digitalization when assessing the relationship between financial development and energy intensity.
Ulaş Ünlü, Nuri Avşarlıgil, İ. T. Dörtyol et al.· International Journal of Fin...· 0 citations
This mixed-methods study examines the associations among fintech advancement, green finance, and financial inclusion in Jordan, an emerging economy. It draws on a distinctive three-part dataset: survey data from 21 commercial banks (N = 21), a national household survey, and semi-structured interviews with stakeholders. The quantitative results indicate that the positive association between fintech adoption and the provision of green finance is statistically consistent with full mediation by banks’ absorptive capacity, particularly their digital maturity and data analytics capabilities. Proactive regulatory support significantly moderates this mediated relationship. Market demand, by contrast, has no statistically significant moderating effect. At the household level, the combined use of digital and green financial products is associated with higher formal account ownership and with the use of a greater number of financial products. The interviews support these results, pointing to institutional capacity and regulatory clarity as essential enabling factors. Given the cross-sectional bank-level data (N = 21) and the exploratory scope of the mediation analysis, causal interpretations should be avoided. Future longitudinal research is needed to examine temporal dynamics. Even so, these findings offer policymakers an initial empirical framework: channeling fintech toward sustainable development will likely require targeted interventions to build institutional digital capacity and establish clear regulatory frameworks, rather than depending solely on market forces.
Ali Matar· Journal of Risk and Financia...· 0 citations
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