Page 66 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

THE JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES: THEORY AND PRACTICE, V.83, # 1, 2026, pp. 58-81

3. Conceptual framework
In this article, the authors present a conceptual framework to understand the nexus
between digital transformation and early-stage digital entrepreneurship (TEN) in
OECD economies. The Triple Helix Model used in the framework highlights the
cooperation among academia, industry, and government, and the framework is based
on empirical literature analysing how ICT infrastructure, innovation capacity, and the
macroeconomic environment influence entrepreneurial outcomes. The central
construct of the model is TEN (Total Early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity in
Technology), which is shaped by two broad groups of variables:

A. Drivers of Digital Transformation:
ICT Exports: Indicate the technological strength and the export-oriented innovativeness
of an economy.
Internet Penetration: Shows the availability of the digital markets and infrastructure.
R&D Expenditure: It is a measure of how a country spends on research and development.
Scientists and technologists: Used to denote the human resources in scientific and
technological development.

B. Economic and institutional context:
Established Businesses: Can serve as a proxy for entrepreneurial ecosystems and
mentoring networks.
GDP: Indicates the financial potential and the stability of the economy to back new
endeavours.
Financial Risk: Macroeconomic fluctuations that are likely to discourage
entrepreneurship are captured.

According to the framework, the digital transformation enablers play a positive role in TEN
when complemented by benign macroeconomic factors and a stable institutional
environment. It also allows testing direct and mediated effects using panel-data econometric
models. It is a conceptual framework against which the selection of variables and the
formulation of hypotheses to be tested in an empirical context occur in later sections.

4. Research Methodology
A research design based on panel data from 2004 to 2025 tracks OECD economies to
analyse digital entrepreneurship alongside digital transformation, controlling for
established businesses, GDP, and financial risks (Paul et al., 2022; Satalkina & Steiner,
2020). The aim is to investigate the impact of digital transformation on digital
entrepreneurship, particularly early-stage technology entrepreneurship (TEN). Panel data
enables the observation of trends over time and country effects, which are crucial for
digital transformation processes that change over time and differ across regions.

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