Entrepreneurial Bricolage, Business Model Innovation, and Sustainable Entrepreneurial Performance of Digital Entrepreneurial Ventures: The Moderating Effect of Digital Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Empowerment

Abstract

Digital entrepreneurial ventures are increasingly embracing a high-quality development trajectory that prioritizes green, low-carbon, and sustainable practices, necessitating ongoing environmental enhancements and the active assumption of social responsibilities alongside economic progress. Despite this, there is a significant disparity in the sustainable entrepreneurial performance among these ventures, highlighting the need for an in-depth exploration of the underlying factors. This study develops a theoretical framework that links entrepreneurial bricolage to business model innovation and ultimately to sustainable entrepreneurial performance, all within the context of a digital entrepreneurial ecosystem (DEE). The research focuses on 371 digital ventures operating within the DEE, examining the relationships and effects among the variables. The findings indicate that entrepreneurial bricolage has a positive impact on sustainable entrepreneurial performance. Furthermore, entrepreneurial bricolage is found to foster business model innovation, which in turn, enhances sustainable performance. The investigation demonstrates that business model innovation partially mediates in the link between entrepreneurial bricolage and the sustainable entrepreneurial performance. Additionally, the DEE’s empowering influence is shown to positively regulate the connection between entrepreneurial bricolage and business model innovation, as well as between business model innovation and sustainable entrepreneurial performance. The empowering effect of the DEE also exerts a positive moderating influence on the indirect impact of sustainable entrepreneurial performance mediated by business model innovation, stemming from entrepreneurial bricolage. This study underscores the significance of entrepreneurial bricolage and the digital entrepreneurship ecosystem, demonstrating that digital startups ought to augment their bricolage skills and leverage the ecosystem’s support to attain enduring sustainable entrepreneurial performance. The conclusions drawn from this research offer valuable insights and serve as a reference for strategies aimed at enhancing the sustainable performance of digital entrepreneurial ventures within the DEE.