The Effect of External Environment Factors and Founders’ Characteristics on Digital Platform Start-up Performance. Dynamic Competition Perspectiveive

Víctor Giménez; Diego Prior Jimenez; Asta Pundziene; Rima Sermontyte-Baniule

doi:10.5755/j01.ee.36.4.40941

Authors

Víctor Giménez Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain
Diego Prior Jimenez Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain
Asta Pundziene Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Rima Sermontyte-Baniule Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.36.4.40941

Keywords:

digital platform start-ups, dynamic competition, performance, founders’ characteristics, external environment factors

Abstract

Digital platform start-ups rely on technological innovations to compete with other start-ups and incumbents. Competition by innovation, so-called dynamic competition, radically changes how start-ups leverage the external environment and founders’ characteristics to create superior performance. Although scholars unveiled the significant role of dynamic competition in entrepreneurial ecosystems, it is little known about how external environment factors and founders' characteristics interact under dynamic competition. This study focuses on the healthcare industry, which is a highly innovative sector where digital platform start-ups face unique challenges and opportunities. Using a sample of 235 digital platform start-ups, this study quantifies the impact of external environment factors and analyses the role of founders’ characteristics through managerial effectiveness. The findings reveal that economic freedom and governance quality may negatively affect performance, while founder characteristics enhance managerial effectiveness and significantly support start-up success. This study contributes to the literature by linking digital entrepreneurship with dynamic competition and offers insights into how start-ups can strategically navigate competitive environments to achieve superior performance.

Author Biographies

Víctor Giménez, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain

Víctor Giménez is an Associate Professor at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, specializing in operations, quality, and project management. His research has been published in journals such as Omega, Health Care Management Science, European Journal of Operational Research and others.
Diego Prior Jimenez, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain

Diego Prior Jimenez is a Full Professor of Finance, Financial Information and Management Control at the Department of Business, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. His research focuses on efficiency, performance measurement, and public sector management, with numerous publications in top-tier journals.
Asta Pundziene, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania

Asta Pundziene is a Full Professor of Strategic management and organizational psychology in the School of Economics and Business, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania, and Affiliated Scholar at University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business. Her work has appeared in the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, California Management Review and Journal of Business Research.
Rima Sermontyte-Baniule, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania

Rima Sermontyte-Baniule is a researcher at the School of Economics and Business, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania, and a member of the Digital Healthcare Innovation research group. Her current research interests include strategic management, dynamic capabilities, open innovation and value-based digital healthcare performance. Her work has been published in the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Journal of Business Research, and Technological Forecasting and Social Change.