Examining the Role of Entrepreneurial Alertness in the Growth of the Digital Economy

Today, acquiring knowledge about the digital transformation of economic systems is vital for entrepreneurs. Alert entrepreneurs are quick to recognize new windows of opportunity, so entrepreneurial alertness is deeply correlated with economic growth. In has been analyzed in this research how alert entrepreneurs control the growth gradient of the digital economy from the micro level. An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was conducted by interviewing Iranian researchers and experts from the fields of entrepreneurship, economics, science and technology, and public policy. The results show that the cognitive characteristics of alert entrepreneurs establish networks on digital platforms. Alert entrepreneurs set values based on the belief system and ethics, which promote informal institutions and channel the bottom-up stream into regulating a new set of policies, thereby this aspect of modern economy “virtue enriches economy” is realized.