IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i2p671-d479023.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Innovation of Startups, the Key to Unlocking Post-Crisis Sustainable Growth in Romanian Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

Author

Listed:
  • Oana Bărbulescu

    (Faculty of Economic Sciences and Business Administration, Transilvania University of Brașov, 500036 Brașov, Romania)

  • Alina Simona Tecău

    (Faculty of Economic Sciences and Business Administration, Transilvania University of Brașov, 500036 Brașov, Romania)

  • Daniel Munteanu

    (Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Transilvania University of Brașov, 500036 Brașov, Romania)

  • Cristinel Petrişor Constantin

    (Faculty of Economic Sciences and Business Administration, Transilvania University of Brașov, 500036 Brașov, Romania)

Abstract

This paper aims at identifying the entrepreneurial opportunities for establishing innovative startups during and post COVID-19 crisis. To reach this goal, we conducted an exploratory study based on semi-structured interviews with 168 students who intend to involve themselves in entrepreneurship in their future career. The research started from the debates in literature regarding the huge negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis on economic development, which can jeopardize the achievement of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The research findings confirm the results of other studies regarding the vulnerability of startups during crises, the reason why they have to refocus on innovative businesses, especially based on information and communication technology (ICT). Such businesses are considered incentives of sustainable development. Other ideas highlighted the importance of social entrepreneurship for the management of startups. It means that startups should develop strong relationships with employees but also with other stakeholders, like companies in the same industry, the public sector, academia, and citizens. In addition, changing the business culture aiming at developing green business could be an inexpensive solution for developing a sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem. These empirical results have implications for both business and the academic environment, which should cooperate in order to overcome the crisis. Such an approach could be used in the long run in order to manage other crises and to develop sustainable business.

Suggested Citation

  • Oana Bărbulescu & Alina Simona Tecău & Daniel Munteanu & Cristinel Petrişor Constantin, 2021. "Innovation of Startups, the Key to Unlocking Post-Crisis Sustainable Growth in Romanian Entrepreneurial Ecosystem," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-16, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:2:p:671-:d:479023
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/2/671/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/2/671/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Acs, Zoltan J. & Audretsch, David B., 2005. "Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technological Change," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 1(4), pages 149-195, November.
    2. Minh-Hoang Nguyen & Thanh-Hang Pham & Manh-Toan Ho & Huyen Thanh T. Nguyen & Quan-Hoang Vuong, 2021. "On the social and conceptual structure of the 50-year research landscape in entrepreneurial finance," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 1-29, January.
    3. C. Praag & Peter Versloot, 2007. "What is the value of entrepreneurship? A review of recent research," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 351-382, December.
    4. Smith, Claudia & Smith, J. Brock & Shaw, Eleanor, 2017. "Embracing digital networks: Entrepreneurs' social capital online," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 18-34.
    5. Gianni Barcaccia & Vincenzo D’Agostino & Alessandro Zotti & Bruno Cozzi, 2020. "Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 on the Italian Agri-Food Sector: An Analysis of the Quarter of Pandemic Lockdown and Clues for a Socio-Economic and Territorial Restart," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-28, July.
    6. Quan-Hoang Vuong, 2021. "The semiconducting principle of monetary and environmental values exchange," Economics and Business Letters, Oviedo University Press, vol. 10(3), pages 284-290.
    7. Evans, David S & Jovanovic, Boyan, 1989. "An Estimated Model of Entrepreneurial Choice under Liquidity Constraints," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(4), pages 808-827, August.
    8. Quan-Hoang Vuong & Nancy K. Napier, 2013. "Acculturation and Global Mindsponge," Working Papers CEB 13-053, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    9. Walter Leal Filho & Luciana Londero Brandli & Amanda Lange Salvia & Lez Rayman-Bacchus & Johannes Platje, 2020. "COVID-19 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Threat to Solidarity or an Opportunity?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-14, July.
    10. Luis Espino-Díaz & Gemma Fernandez-Caminero & Carmen-Maria Hernandez-Lloret & Hugo Gonzalez-Gonzalez & Jose-Luis Alvarez-Castillo, 2020. "Analyzing the Impact of COVID-19 on Education Professionals. Toward a Paradigm Shift: ICT and Neuroeducation as a Binomial of Action," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-10, July.
    11. Satish Nambisan, 2017. "Digital Entrepreneurship: Toward a Digital Technology Perspective of Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(6), pages 1029-1055, November.
    12. Oana Bărbulescu & Cristinel Petrişor Constantin, 2019. "Sustainable Growth Approaches: Quadruple Helix Approach for Turning Brașov into a Startup City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-19, November.
    13. Charlene Li & Miranda Mirosa & Phil Bremer, 2020. "Review of Online Food Delivery Platforms and their Impacts on Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-17, July.
    14. Fossen, Frank M. & Sorgner, Alina, 2021. "Digitalization of work and entry into entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 548-563.
    15. Zoltan J. Acs & David B. Audretsch, 2005. "Entrepreneurship and Innovation," Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2005-21, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group.
    16. Nicholas A. Ashford & Ralph P. Hall & Johan Arango-Quiroga & Kyriakos A. Metaxas & Amy L. Showalter, 2020. "Addressing Inequality: The First Step Beyond COVID-19 and Towards Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-43, July.
    17. Joyce Koe Hwee Nga & Gomathi Shamuganathan, 2010. "The Influence of Personality Traits and Demographic Factors on Social Entrepreneurship Start Up Intentions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(2), pages 259-282, August.
    18. Frederik von Briel & Per Davidsson & Jan Recker, 2018. "Digital Technologies as External Enablers of New Venture Creation in the IT Hardware Sector," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 42(1), pages 47-69, January.
    19. Nambisan, Satish & Wright, Mike & Feldman, Maryann, 2019. "The digital transformation of innovation and entrepreneurship: Progress, challenges and key themes," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(8), pages 1-1.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Joel Isabirye, 2021. "A Thematic Review of the Efficacy of Firms' Responses to Economic Crises: A Ugandan Perspective," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 19(1), pages 311-323, May.
    2. Rodrigo Espinoza-Sánchez & Carlos Salvador Peña-Casillas & José Luis Cornejo-Ortega, 2022. "Impact of the 4 Helix Model on the Sustainability of Tourism Social Entrepreneurships in Jalisco and Nayarit, Mexico," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-18, January.
    3. Tiberiu Foris & Alina Simona Tecău & Camelia-Cristina Dragomir & Diana Foris, 2022. "The Start-Up Manager in Times of Crisis: Challenges and Solutions for Increasing the Resilience of Companies and Sustainable Reconstruction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-20, July.
    4. Bartosz Wachnik & Aleksandra Krupa & Krzysztof Santarek, 2022. "A Comparative Analysis of the Acquisition Transaction of Management Information Systems through Virtual and Face-to-Face Negotiations—The Perspective of Green IT Industry in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-12, August.
    5. Moonju Nam & Taegeon Song & Dasran Kim & Kukjin Jang & Jinsick Kim & Byeongsoo Koo & Jooyeoun Lee & Myoungsug Chung, 2023. "Effects of Content Characteristics and Improvement in User Satisfaction on the Reuse of Home Fitness Application," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-13, May.
    6. Nguyen, Minh-Hoang & Vuong, Quan-Hoang & Ho, Manh-Toan & Le, Tam-Tri, 2021. "Mindsponge mechanism," OSF Preprints zpvmk, Center for Open Science.
    7. Temitayo Shenkoya & Kyung Yun Hwang & Eul Hyun Sung, 2023. "Student Startup: Understanding the Role of the University in Making Startups Profitable Through University—Industry Collaboration," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, September.
    8. Nguyen, Minh-Hoang, 2023. "Investigating urban residents' involvement in biodiversity conservation in protected areas: Empirical evidence from Vietnam," Thesis Commons z2hjv, Center for Open Science.
    9. Michał Bańka & Mariusz Salwin & Maria Kukurba & Szymon Rychlik & Joanna Kłos & Monika Sychowicz, 2022. "Start-Up Accelerators and Their Impact on Sustainability: Literature Analysis and Case Studies from the Energy Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-30, October.
    10. Nguyen, Minh-Hoang & Ho, Manh-Toan & Le, Tri Tam & Huyen, Nguyen Thanh Thanh & Nguyen, Hong-Kong T., 2021. "On the working of the mindsponge concept and the bayesvl R package," OSF Preprints jhg7b, Center for Open Science.
    11. Nor Azmawati Husain & Intan Maizura Abd Rashid & Norshiba Norhisham & Nor Hamiza Mohd Noor & Noraishah Kamarolzaman, 2023. "The Effect of Conceptual Factors on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Business Success in Malaysia," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 15(4), pages 264-274.
    12. Carlos Salvador Peña-Casillas & Rodrigo Espinoza-Sánchez & José Alejandro López-Sánchez & Adriana Yunuen Dávalos-Pita, 2024. "Approach to Impact of Tourism on Quality of Life: Case Study of the Magic Town of San Sebastián del Oeste, Jalisco, México," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-21, December.
    13. Sanjay Chaudhary & Puneet Kaur & Hind Alofaysan & Jantje Halberstadt & Amandeep Dhir, 2023. "Connecting the dots? Entrepreneurial ecosystems and sustainable entrepreneurship as pathways to sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 5935-5951, December.
    14. Domicián Máté & Ni Made Estiyanti & Adam Novotny, 2024. "How to support innovative small firms? Bibliometric analysis and visualization of start-up incubation," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 1-26, December.
    15. Piotr Kordel & Radosław Wolniak, 2021. "Technology Entrepreneurship and the Performance of Enterprises in the Conditions of Covid-19 Pandemic: The Fuzzy Set Analysis of Waste to Energy Enterprises in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-22, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fossen, Frank M. & Sorgner, Alina, 2021. "Digitalization of work and entry into entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 548-563.
    2. Tobias Kollmann & Lucas Kleine-Stegemann & Katharina Cruppe & Christina Then-Bergh, 2022. "Eras of Digital Entrepreneurship," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 64(1), pages 15-31, February.
    3. Gala, Kaushik & Schwab, Andreas & Mueller, Brandon A., 2024. "Star entrepreneurs on digital platforms: Heavy-tailed performance distributions and their generative mechanisms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 39(1).
    4. Rodrigo Espinoza-Sánchez & Carlos Salvador Peña-Casillas & José Luis Cornejo-Ortega, 2022. "Impact of the 4 Helix Model on the Sustainability of Tourism Social Entrepreneurships in Jalisco and Nayarit, Mexico," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-18, January.
    5. Yáñez-Valdés, Claudia & Guerrero, Maribel & Barros-Celume, Sebastián & Ibáñez, María J., 2023. "Winds of change due to global lockdowns: Refreshing digital social entrepreneurship research paradigm," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    6. Mercedes Gumbau-Albert, 2024. "Understanding the Impact of Intangible Capital on Entrepreneurship at the Regional Level," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(3), pages 11063-11089, September.
    7. Zaheer, Hasnain & Breyer, Yvonne & Dumay, John & Enjeti, Mahesh, 2022. "The entrepreneurial journeys of digital start-up founders," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    8. Santos, Susana C. & Liguori, Eric W. & Garvey, Erin, 2023. "How digitalization reinvented entrepreneurial resilience during COVID-19," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    9. Zoltan J. Acs & Abraham K. Song & László Szerb & David B. Audretsch & Éva Komlósi, 2021. "The evolution of the global digital platform economy: 1971–2021," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1629-1659, December.
    10. Peng Chen & Zhenjun Yan & Pengfei Wang, 2023. "How can the Digital Economy Boost the Performance of Entrepreneurs? A Large Sample of Evidence from China’s Business Incubators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-24, March.
    11. Weking, Jörg & Desouza, Kevin C. & Fielt, Erwin & Kowalkiewicz, Marek, 2023. "Metaverse-enabled entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).
    12. Fossen, Frank M. & König, Johannes, 2015. "Public health insurance and entry into self-employment," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 112934, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    13. Magnus Schückes & Tobias Gutmann, 2021. "Why do startups pursue initial coin offerings (ICOs)? The role of economic drivers and social identity on funding choice," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 1027-1052, August.
    14. Stefano D’Angelo & Angelo Cavallo & Antonio Ghezzi & Francesco Di Lorenzo, 2024. "Understanding corporate entrepreneurship in the digital age: a review and research agenda," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 18(12), pages 3719-3774, December.
    15. Francisco Olmo-García & Fernando Javier Crecente-Romero & María Teresa Val-Núñez & María Sarabia-Alegría, 2023. "Entrepreneurial activity in an environment of digital transformation: an analysis of relevant factors in the euro area," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    16. Becker, Kai & Ebbers, Joris J. & Engel, Yuval, 2024. "Going online: Peer entrepreneur networks in a startup accelerator before and during the COVID-19 pandemic," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    17. Zoltán J. Ács & Pontus Braunerhjelm & David B. Audretsch & Bo Carlsson, 2015. "The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 7, pages 129-144, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    18. Alessandra Colombelli & Elettra D’Amico & Emilio Paolucci, 2023. "When computer science is not enough: universities knowledge specializations behind artificial intelligence startups in Italy," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(5), pages 1599-1627, October.
    19. Frank M. Fossen & Ray Rees & Davud Rostam-Afschar & Viktor Steiner, 2020. "The effects of income taxation on entrepreneurial investment: A puzzle?," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 27(6), pages 1321-1363, December.
    20. Gohmann, Stephan F. & Fernandez, Jose M., 2014. "Proprietorship and unemployment in the United States," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 289-309.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:2:p:671-:d:479023. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.