Data-driven high-tech entrepreneurship: Empirical evidence from China

This study investigates whether and under what conditions open government data (OGD) promotes high-tech entrepreneurship. Drawing on panel data from 259 Chinese cities between 2007 and 2022, and leveraging the staggered rollout of OGD platforms as a quasi-natural experiment, we implement a multi-period difference-in-differences design. The results show that OGD significantly promotes high-tech entrepreneurship, with the most pronounced effect observed among medium-sized startups. These effects are more pronounced in regions with stronger development of digital technology and industrial co-agglomeration, and in regions with lower administrative monopoly and higher labor costs, while also stronger in industries with higher entry barriers, suggesting that OGD may serve as a critical informational resource that empowers startups to overcome resource constraints and entry barriers. • We conceptualize Open Government Data (OGD) as a quasi-public, non-rival production factor. • A multi-period DID exploiting staggered city-level OGD launches identifies causal effects on high-tech entrepreneurship. • OGD lowers entry barriers via a macro-level factor substitution mechanism that reduces reliance on capital-intensive inputs. • Effects are stronger where digital capabilities and industrial co-agglomeration are higher, revealing key boundary conditions. • OGD can act as an "institutional substitute," exerting a stronger pro-entrepreneurship effect in regions with weaker market institutions. • This study bridges the discourse between "open government" and "entrepreneurship," offering a new framework to assess the economic performance of digital-era public policies.