The Entrepreneurial Business Model in the Digital Era: Toward a Systemic and Adaptive Approach

Abstract

Digital transformation has profoundly reshaped the foundations of contemporary entrepreneurship, altering the ways in which value is created, captured, and shared. In this context, the entrepreneurial business model has emerged as a central conceptual framework for understanding how entrepreneurs adapt their logics of action in the face of technological and organisational complexity. This literature review, covering the period 2010–2025, provides an integrative synthesis of the main theoretical perspectives that have shaped the evolution of business models in the digital era. It draws on key contributions from strategic research (Teece, 2010; Zott & Amit, 2010; Foss & Saebi, 2017), processual approaches (Sarasvathy, 2001; Read et al., 2019), and ecosystem-based perspectives (Autio et al., 2018; Parker et al., 2016) to shed light on the interactions between digitalisation, innovation, and entrepreneurial learning. The analysis reveals a threefold dynamic: digitalisation as a structural driver of transformation, entrepreneurial flexibility as a strategic competence, and value co-creation as a sustainable outcome. This synthesis also highlights persistent challenges related to contextualising business models in emerging economies and integrating social and environmental dimensions into entrepreneurial practice. Overall, this article contributes to a renewed understanding of the entrepreneurial business model, viewed not as a fixed structure but as an adaptive system of value creation at the intersection of technology, collaboration, and sustainability.

Keywords: Digital entrepreneurship, Business model, Innovation, Value creation, Digital transformation.

Received Date: July 19, 2025                       

Accepted Date: August 11, 2025                     

Published Date: August 30, 2025   

Available Online at https://www.ijsrisjournal.com/index.php/ojsfiles/article/view/487