Digital platforms as entrepreneurial ecosystems and drivers of born-global SMEs in emerging economies

Digital platform businesses have emerged over recent years to become some of the most valuable and successful companies in the world. Due to the Internet and digitisation, these multi-sided platforms generate value in new and unique ways compared to their linear predecessors. This has led to the development of new entrepreneurial ecosystems where small, medium enterprises (SMEs) have been able to access international markets at low cost and become born global firms. However, this trend is not confined to wealthy Western countries but it is also spreading to the newly emerging economies as well. The chapter explores a range or up-to-date literature covering platform business models, entrepreneurial ecosystems and the born global firm. It then identifies and analyses secondary data to illustrate how both established and emerging platform companies are creating new entrepreneurial ecosystems for SMEs seeking global expansion from emerging economies.