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Swaty Sharma, Munish Gupta: Does the Rise of Emerging Technologies Transform Digital
Entrepreneurial Activity? Evidence from OECD Nations

In particular, all three variables of Internet penetration (Z-bar = 6.198), R&D
expenditure (Z-bar = 4.746), and researchers in R&D (Z-bar = 5.645) have a significant
causal impact on technology entrepreneurship. The significant causality (Z-bar = 4.788)
in ICT exports is also consistent with the existing literature on the enabling role of
digital infrastructure in entrepreneurial ecosystems. Notably, economic variables, GDP
(Z-bar = 5.066), Established business presence (Z-bar = 2.850), and financial risk (Z-
bar = 2.186) are also significant determinants of TEN. The results indicate a
multidimensional structure of causality, with technological, economic, and institutional
factors jointly shaping the path of digital entrepreneurship. There is strength in the
inclusion of both Z-bar and W-bar statistics. Whereas Z-bar is standardised among
panels, W-bar is the weighted average test statistic. Their stability in significance speaks
in favour of the causal inferences drawn. Consequently, policies to enhance these
indicators, in particular R&D spending, internet penetration, and macroeconomic
stability, will tend to have a beneficial cumulative effect on digital entrepreneurship in
OECD economies (Westerlund, 2007; Dumitrescu & Hurlin, 2012). This analysis
shows a causal connection among Established Business Owners, Economic Growth
(GDP), Financial Risk, and Technology Entrepreneurship (TEN), ICT Exports (ICT),
Internet, R&D, and researchers in R&D (RR&D). This result shows these factors’
complex association and cumulative impact on digital entrepreneurship. The results and
findings demonstrate that any intervention developed to impact these metrics will
change technology performance positively for entrepreneurship.

Table 5: Granger Causality
Z-bar W-bar p- value
R&D-----TEN 4.746 12.140 0.000
Internet-------TEN 6.198 16.843 0.000
GDP-------TEN 5.066 13.176 0.000
ICT------TEN 4.788 12.275 0.000
Financial Risk ----TEN 2.186 3.843 0.000
EST_BUS------TEN 2.850 5.995 0.000
RR&D-------TEN 5.645 15.798 0.000
Author’s Creation

6. Conclusion and Implications
The paper provides strong empirical evidence on the structural determinants of digital
entrepreneurship (TEN) in OECD countries. It uses a wide panel dataset of 2004-2025
and a multi-step econometric methodology to uncover the presence of many critical
enablers, namely internet access, GDP growth, R&D expenditures, and researcher
activity. These outcomes explain the significance of creating a digitally inclusive
infrastructure and investing in knowledge-based innovation ecosystems. These
findings underscore the importance of creating a digitally inclusive environment

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