亚开行-亚洲发展中国家的数字化转型和创业创新：比较证据和政策教训

Digital Transformationand Entrepreneurial Innovation KEY POINTS •Digitalization is a powerfuldriver of entrepreneurialinnovation acrossdeveloping economies, Developing Asia showssystematically weakerinnovation payoffs fromdigitalization than Africaand the Middle East, Latin Yeng-May Tan Kun FuReader of Innovation andEntrepreneurship Assistant Professor of Financeand Head, Master of Economicsin Finance School of Economics José Ernesto AmorósAssociate Dean of Researchand Faculty EGADE Business School Donghyun ParkEconomic AdvisorEconomic Research and Development Governance indicators(government onlineservices, e-participation) areespecially important globally, Erkko Autio Professor and Chair in TechnologyVenturing and Entrepreneurship The region’s paradoxreflects a translation gap:digital readiness exists,but innovation gains remain Policy priorities shouldfocus on (i) building digitaland managerial skills;(ii) improving accessibilityand orientation to smalland medium-sized Digital technology is reshaping economies worldwide, offering developing regionsnew opportunities for productivity, markets, and growth. Entrepreneurs stand tobenefit most, as they are often more agile than larger firms in adopting new tools and Using individual-level data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor combinedwith domestic level indicators from the Global Innovation Index, the studyanalyzes nearly 70 developing economies during 2013–2022. The results show thatdigitalization—measured through information and communication technology (ICT) ISBN 978-92-9277-509-4 (print)ISBN 978-92-9277-510-0 (PDF)ISSN 2071-7202 (print)ISSN 2218-2675 (PDF)Publication Stock No. BRF250469-2 ADB BRIEFS NO. 362 Yet developing Asia captures weaker innovation benefitscompared to its peers. Despite strong scores on infrastructureand governance indicators, the region struggles to translate digitalreadiness into broad-based entrepreneurial outcomes. The reasons The policy message is clear: developing Asia must movebeyond building access to enabling innovation—through skills,inclusive governance, and diffusion strategies—to unlock digital BACKGROUND Digital technology is reshaping the foundations of economicdevelopment. In areas spanning mobile connectivity, e-commerce,digital finance, and government services, digitalization offersdeveloping economies opportunities to boost productivity,reach new markets, and leapfrog into higher-value activities. Adopting a comparative approach is essential to determinewhether Asia’s experience reflects strong or weak performance,or simply follows a global pattern. Benchmarking developingAsia against other regions makes it possible to identify wherethe region is ahead, where it lags, and what lessons might be For developing Asia, these opportunities are particularly salient.The region has invested heavily in expanding ICT infrastructure,rolling out mobile payment platforms, and encouraging e-commerceadoption. Many Asian economies are global leaders in digitalinnovation hubs, while others have made rapid progress inimproving connectivity in just a decade. Yet the central question Despite impressive investments in ICT infrastructure, mobileplatforms, and e-commerce, questions remain about how farthese advances translate into broad-based entrepreneurialinnovation. Large cities and advanced firms often reap the greatestdigital dividends, while rural and informal sectors risk being leftbehind. In some cases, regulations and institutional frameworkshave not kept pace with fast-changing digital markets, leaving This brief draws on a study covering nearly 70 developingeconomies across four regions: developing Asia, Africa and theMiddle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and emergingEurope. By situating Asia within this broader comparative lens,we are able to ask two different interrelated questions. First, doesdigitalization reliably foster innovation by entrepreneurs across The central policy challenge is therefore not whether digitalizationmatters—it clearly does—buthow to ensure that digital Figure 1 shows the regional distribution of sample economieshighlighting the balanced coverage across developing Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, Digital Transformation and Entrepreneurial Innovation in Developing Asia EVIDENCE AND FINDINGS Box 1: Methodology in Brief This study combines individual-level data from the GlobalEntrepreneurship Monitor with domestic level indicators fromthe Global Innovation Index published by the World IntellectualProperty Organization. Covering 68 developing economies during DATA Data Sources:• Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM): tracksentrepreneurial activity & innovation Baseline Results Sample:•  developing economies• Time frame: - Across all developing economies in the sample, digitalization isstrongly associated with higher levels of entrepreneurial innovation.The baseline regression results (Figure 2a) show that entre