Digital entrepreneurship ecosystems: Then vs. now-a future perspectives

Digital entrepreneurship ecosystem has become a central topic in the digital economy which is characterized by an inclusive and changing framework. This study aims to investigate the key components, trends and latent topics of digital entrepreneurship ecosystem. The data (1234 articles) were obtained from the Web of Science and Scopus database, covering 18 years' data ranging from 2006 to 2023. A hybrid method, integrating topic modeling and bibliometric analysis were adopted. The data were analyzed using R studio software, version (2023.12.0) and the results show notable increase in scientific publications, with a 93 % growth and over 200 articles in the last three years, signifies the growing interest in digital entrepreneurship, particularly in prestigious journals like “Small Business Economics” and “Journal of Technology Transfer.” The study highlights the leading contributions of Anglo-Saxon region (US, UK, Australia), and leading European countries like Germany in this area. Six primary topics emerge: 1) digital entrepreneurship in academia, 2) women entrepreneurship and gender role, 3) entrepreneurship ecosystem and innovation, 4) government policy and economic strategy in entrepreneurship, 5) social entrepreneurship and sustainability and, 6) start-up innovation and incubation. Besides, the study proposes a conceptual framework by integrating Quadruple Helix Model for understanding the sustainable digital ecosystem. The findings suggest a comprehensive approach to support policy framework and practices, aiming to foster an inclusive digital entrepreneurship ecosystem in most developing African and Asian countries.