The creation of digital innovative start-ups: the role of digital knowledge spillovers and digital skill endowment

Building on the Knowledge Spillover Theory of Entrepreneurship (KSTE) and the Digital Entrepreneurial Ecosystem (DEE) approach, this paper investigates the relationship between the local availability of digital knowledge (i.e., digital knowledge spillovers and digital skill endowment) and the creation of digital innovative start-ups in Italian NUTS3 regions. The obtained results show that both elements are significant for the creation of digital innovative start-ups at the province level, and a two-fold contribution has been made: from a theory perspective, an extension of KSTE to digital settings has been used to assess the relevance of geographical issues, while, from a DEE perspective, the study contributes by empirically analyzing the specific characteristics of the local ecosystem that can affect the creation of digital innovative start-ups. Finally, we discuss the implications for entrepreneurship and technology policy at the local level. Plain English SummaryDigital knowledge spillovers and digital skill endowment support the creation of digital innovative start-ups. The rapid diffusion of digital technologies has generated new opportunities for developing innovative entrepreneurship, which is essential for employment growth, new job creation, and socio-economic wealth. Therefore, investigating the enabling conditions of digital innovative start-up creation is essential to define appropriate support policies. This paper, by processing data related to Italian NUTS3 regions, analyses the role that digital knowledge spillovers and digital skill endowment play in supporting the creation of digital innovative start-ups. The obtained results highlight that both the components considered to describe the local availability of digital knowledge (i.e., knowledge on digital technologies) play a central role in the creation of digital innovative start-ups at the province level. The main implications of this study are important at both a research and a policy level: the former concerns the extension of the Knowledge Spillover Theory of Entrepreneurship to digital settings, whereas the latter regards possible insights and suggestions to enrich institutional policies in order to develop and diffuse digital entrepreneurship processes within a region.