The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant economic impact. Different economic agents have been forced to make temporary or permanent changes to their usual patterns of economic activity. In some business sectors, confinement brought activity to a standstill; in others, it led to the spread of teleworking and, in parallel, highlighted, among other aspects, the importance of digital sales channels. In this context, digitalization can be seen as an opportunity (even a necessity) to maintain the level of business activity and to develop new business initiatives. Firms that used digital tools in their pre-pandemic processes were better prepared to face the health and economic crises and could emerge from them earlier than those companies that were less digitized. Drawing on data from The Future of Business Survey, this paper analyzes the adoption of digital tools in the wake of the pandemic and examines the relationship between pre- and post-pandemic indicators of business digitization and business performance, as measured by sales and employeees. It also considers the diversity of existing digital platforms and the possible uses of these tools.

Social exclusion related to the unemployment of vulnerable population groups constitutes a crucial limitation to achieving a sustainable world. In particular, young and senior populations have specific characteristics that put them at risk of exclusion from the labor market. This circumstance has motivated an attempt to foster cooperation between these age groups to enable them to develop entrepreneurial initiatives that will contribute to close this social vulnerability gap. We approach this topic by focusing on intergenerational entrepreneurship, understood as entrepreneuring projects jointly undertaken by seniors and young adults. The objective of this study was to identify the differences and complementarities between senior and young entrepreneurs with a view to enabling them to develop viable intergenerational entrepreneurial projects, with special emphasis in the motivational push, pull, and blocking factors that affect them. This kind of entrepreneurial initiative fosters knowledge transfer and experience between age groups, promotes job creation and social inclusion, improves a sense of belonging, and, thus, contributes to the construction of a stronger society serving as an engine for sustainable development. Therefore, intergenerational entrepreneurship can be considered a form of social innovation. A mixed-methods approach was utilized in this study, using quantitative data from a questionnaire as a starting point for the characterization and identification of senior and young entrepreneurial profiles, and qualitative data from focus groups, which enabled us to identify complementarities among generations. The results show that there are significant differences between youths and seniors in terms of the motivations and factors that push, pull, or block the decision to form an intergenerational entrepreneurial partnership. These differences can be interpreted as complementarities that can boost intergenerational cooperation to promote social inclusion.

Intergenerational entrepreneurial initiatives are aimed at addressing the needs and opportunities of certain social groups and have the potential of becoming successful business projects. Moreover, they are a key to undertake sustainability practices that may represent a competitive advantage for the companies and an example to imitate when creating businesses. The objective of the study is to propose an intergenerational training methodology so that young people and seniors can create companies together, generating social cohesion and sustainable development in response to generational challenges. Intergenerational entrepreneurship seems to be a novel research area, especially when referring to developing methodologies of collaborative entrepreneurship projects. For this purpose, our literature review focuses on, first, the matching theories and experiences applied for intergenerational cooperation; then, literature about training methodologies for entrepreneurship is reviewed; finally, the main theories on training skills for entrepreneurship are approached. Focus groups were conducted as they serve as the main sources of data and are very appropriate for the generation of new ideas within a social context. In general, results show that, for achieving a successful intergenerational cooperation, some specific training is needed for both generations. This paper is a starting point for future research approaching intergenerational entrepreneurship, or entrepreneurial initiatives with singular characteristics, such as rural contexts or people with disabilities.

The transition towards circular economy models increasingly depends on entrepreneurial initiatives capable of integrating economic viability with social and environmental objectives. However, existing research provides limited explanation of how sustainable entrepreneurs mobilise shared knowledge and social innovation to navigate tensions between competing institutional logics in circular contexts. This study clarifies the role of shared knowledge and social innovation by explaining how circular sustainable value is created through circular business model development. This article develops an integrative framework based on a structured synthesis of the literature on sustainable entrepreneurship, social innovation, shared knowledge, institutional logic, and circular business models. The study does not rely on primary empirical data but focuses on theoretical integration across complementary research to advance conceptual understanding of circular value creation. The article proposes a three-stage framework explaining how shared knowledge is transformed into circular sustainable value through social innovation mechanisms. It illustrates how diverse knowledge inputs interact with institutional logics, how social innovation processes translate these inputs into collaborative practices, and how circular business models generate multidimensional value under conditions of institutional complexity. The framework offers guidance for entrepreneurs, policymakers, and ecosystem actors involved in circular economy transitions and helps clarify how collaborative knowledge practices and social innovation processes can support the design and implementation of circular business models. This article does not empirically test the proposed framework. The findings are limited to theoretical development. Future research is encouraged to examine the framework empirically through longitudinal case studies, comparative designs, or mixed-method approaches, and to operationalise its key constructs.

Purpose: This paper develops a five-dimensional model and diagnostic framework explaining how local governments can articulate science, technology and innovation ecosystems to foster innovation-driven entrepreneurship in territorialised contexts. The model is intended to guide diagnostic assessment and evidence-based policy design rather than to serve as a predictive or empirically validated causal framework. Design/methodology/approach: The research employs a theory synthesis approach integrating institutional entrepreneurship theory, the Neo-Triple Helix model and policy layering perspectives. Two illustrative cases (Medellín and Singapore) exemplify mechanisms and implementation choices rather than test the model. Findings: The model encompasses institutional governance, relational infrastructure, technological capabilities, financing mechanisms and sustainability orientation. Local governments can function as institutional entrepreneurs orchestrating ecosystem emergence through autonomous agencies, regulatory experimentation and network facilitation. Research limitations/implications: The framework is grounded in literature reflecting specific institutional assumptions (e.g. liberal-democratic governance and market-based coordination), potentially limiting transferability to different administrative traditions; future research should examine adaptations across diverse governance settings. Practical implications: The model provides public managers with diagnostic tools for identifying gaps between local conditions and ideal-type enablers, informing evidence-based policy design. For low-capacity municipalities, operationalisation should proceed through inter-municipal cooperation and multi-level governance arrangements enabling access to instruments rarely feasible at the single-municipality scale. Originality/value: This research extends institutional entrepreneurship theory to the municipal scale, synthesises helix models through the Neo-Triple Helix framework and operationalises transformative innovation policy principles for local government application.