Editorial Essay

Entrepreneurship and Poverty Reduction in the AI and Digital Technology Era
Steven Si, David Ahlstrom, Jeremy Hall, Jiang Wei, and Victor Cui

Abstract
Over the past few decades, entrepreneurial scholars have conducted extensive research on the issue of poverty alleviation. However, there has not yet been much research with respect to the emerging category of digitally driven entrepreneurship and, more specifically, the role and impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on poverty reduction. In recent years, with the emergence of new and increasingly accessible digital technologies and AI, scholars have devoted significant amounts of energy to exploring a series of digital poverty reduction issues to leverage such technologies. This introductory essay of the Management and Organization Review special issue on digital poverty reduction presents several perspectives on digital poverty reduction, including the digital poverty reduction perspective, the digital platform empowerment perspective, the plight behavior perspective, the digital indigenous entrepreneurship perspective, and the technological and policy perspective. It further explores the approaches and mechanisms of digital technology in alleviating poverty through a literature review, employing a multi-faceted analysis of digital poverty reduction. This comprehensive exploration aims to offer research contributions that hold both theoretical and practical significance in the field of digital poverty reduction.

Keywords
artificial intelligence, digital/AI technology, digital entrepreneurship, digital poverty reduction, poverty reduction

Articles

Special Issue ArticlesTechnology Entrepreneurship, the Poor, and Socialism
Garry D. Bruton, Weiwen Li, Niharika Garud

Abstract
Prior research on technology entrepreneurship has been grounded almost exclusively in capitalist frameworks developed in the Global North. We argue that context matters, and that scholars should examine technology entrepreneurship in the roughly half of the world where socialism provides the economic foundation. As a step in this direction, we investigate how the principle of common prosperity shapes technology entrepreneurship in socialist contexts. Focusing first on China – a global technological leader and one of the world’s largest generators of patents – we show through two cases that concern for the poor is not incidental but integral to technology entrepreneurship under socialism. We then extend the analysis to a second socialist context outside China, demonstrating the broader relevance of common prosperity for understanding the relationship between technology entrepreneurship and poverty alleviation. Taken together, these cases suggest that research on technology entrepreneurship should move beyond Global North capitalist assumptions and instead account for societal context, particularly the socialist emphasis on common prosperity. Incorporating such perspectives invites scholars to reconsider the role of technology and entrepreneurship in advancing the common good and reducing poverty.

Keywords
common prosperity, poverty, socialism, technology entrepreneurship

Digital Poverty in the Global South
Fred Ofori, Stelvia Matos, Mahdi Tavalaei

Abstract
Despite substantial digital investment and stakeholder initiatives, billions in the Global South remain excluded from digital participation. This systematic literature review synthesizes 122 empirical studies published between 2003 and 2024 in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania to analyze key stakeholders, their challenges, and the strategies employed to foster sustainable digital inclusion. Drawing on stakeholder theory and digital ecosystems theory, the study identifies ecosystem fragmentation as a central bottleneck. We advance stakeholder theory by introducing the concept of Ecosystem Coordination Stakeholders (ECS), a role-based stakeholder group whose salience derives from coordination capability alongside power, legitimacy, and urgency. The findings highlight the need for policy frameworks that develop and strengthen institutional capacity for coordination, extend ecosystems theory by recognizing coordination as an architectural developmental need, and highlight the importance of design strategies responsive to specific fragmentation patterns in diverse regional contexts. Our study also reveals that work remains concentrated in Asia and Africa, with continued Global North–Global South inequities in authorship and journal visibility. This study offers management and policy insights on digital poverty that may also apply to other complex challenges requiring effective and sustained multi-stakeholder collaboration.

Keywords
coordination, digital ecosystem, digital inclusion, digital poverty, global south

Social Innovation and Poverty Reduction: A Stakeholder Mobilization Process Model
Naomi Jane Wakayama, K. Praveen Parboteeah, and Youngwon Park

Abstract
Digital technologies are often seen as a powerful means for poverty reduction. Yet, much of the existing research focuses on macro-level outcomes, leaving gaps in understanding individual-level mechanisms and the processes behind successful digital interventions. This study addresses these gaps by examining how online platforms, developed as social innovation efforts, enable smallholder farmers in Japan to escape poverty. Using a qualitative, case-based approach, we analyze six social enterprises and explore how stakeholder mobilization drives the success or failure of these platforms. We developed a schematic model that captures the nonlinear, collaborative nature of the social innovation process. Our findings reveal a systemic account of why and how only two of the six platforms achieved meaningful impact, offering insights into the factors that shape the effectiveness of digital technologies in reducing poverty. In the end, our model offers practical implications for future digital poverty reduction initiatives.

Keywords
digital technology, poverty reduction, social innovation, stakeholder mobilization, sustainability

Digital Financial Inclusion and Income Stratification: Implications for Entrepreneurship and Poverty Reduction
Yiyi Su, Shaker A. Zahra, Ya’nan Zhang, and Mengdi Shang

Abstract
Digital financial inclusion (DFI) has been widely recognized for its potential role in reducing poverty by fostering entrepreneurship. However, whether DFI benefits all social classes equally remains an open question. Integrating technology adoption and income stratification research, this study investigates the impact of DFI on income stratification – specifically lower-, middle-, and upper-income classes – across key entrepreneurial stages, including venture creation, investment, and performance. Using data from 36,557 household-wave observations in the China Household Financial Survey (CHFS), we find that (1) lower-class households are less likely to establish entrepreneurial ventures compared to upper-class households but are more likely to do so than middle-class households, and (2) they make lower investments in entrepreneurial ventures compared to their upper-class counterparts, and experience lower entrepreneurial performance than middle- and upper-class households. The results also show that, whereas DFI positively influences entrepreneurial venture creation, investment, and performance for lower-class households, these effects are less pronounced compared to those observed in middle- and upper-class households. The study advances an integrated view of DFI by examining its differential impacts across income classes and entrepreneurial stages and contributes to the ongoing debate about its effectiveness as a universal poverty reduction solution.

Keywords
Chinese households, digital financial inclusion (DFI), entrepreneurship, income stratification, poverty reduction, technology adoption

From Hardship to Salvation: Entrepreneurs’ Poverty Experience and Digital Poverty Reduction
Song Lin and Yanan Lin

Abstract
Digital entrepreneurship has attracted growing scholarly attention for its potential to alleviate poverty. Drawing on imprinting theory, this study examines how digital entrepreneurs’ past poverty experience shapes their poverty reduction outcomes. Using two waves of survey data from over 200 digital entrepreneurial ventures in rural China, we find that entrepreneurs’ past poverty experience exerts a significant positive effect on poverty reduction outcomes, and this relationship is mediated by the development of firms’ digital capabilities. Furthermore, resource constraints strengthen the imprinting–capability pathway, thereby amplifying the indirect effect of poverty experience on poverty reduction outcomes. This study deepens our understanding of the micro-level mechanisms through which digital entrepreneurship contributes to poverty alleviation, and provides a more nuanced framework for exploring the intersection of personal history and entrepreneurial outcomes in poverty reduction. It also advances imprinting theory by introducing a process-oriented perspective that highlights capability formation as a critical pathway through which early-life adversity is transformed into entrepreneurial outcomes.

Keywords
digital entrepreneurship, imprinting theory, poverty experience, poverty reduction, resource constraints

The Paradox of Poverty Reduction: How Digital Economy Development Widens the Urban-Rural Income Gap in China
Xu Ding, Weizhen Yu, Jinchuan Shi, and Xiufen Liu

Abstract
Coordinated urban and rural development is crucial for reducing inequality and achieving common prosperity. Using panel data from 57 counties in Zhejiang Province from 2015 to 2019, this study examines the impact of digital economy development on the urban–rural income gap, with particular attention to its role in digital poverty alleviation and the underlying transmission mechanisms. The results show that while digital economy development contributes to poverty alleviation by significantly increasing household income in both urban and rural areas, it simultaneously widens the urban–rural income gap. The analysis of mechanisms reveals that nonagricultural employment (NAE), innovation, and entrepreneurship mediate this relationship, disproportionately benefiting urban areas. The heterogeneity analysis further indicates that human capital (HC) and business environment (BE) disparities amplify the widening effect of digital economy development on the urban–rural income gap, while improved infrastructure reduces barriers to resource flow, mitigating the gap. These findings highlight the dual effects of digital economy development, offering critical policy insights for promoting digital poverty reduction while addressing regional disparities to achieve common prosperity.

Keywords
common prosperity, digital divergence, digital economy, poverty reduction, urban–rural income gap

Does Digital Financial Knowledge Participate in Poverty Alleviation? A Moderating Study with Microfinance in Pakistan
Muhammad Asif Nadeem, Waheed Akhter, Thi Hong Van Hoang

Abstract
This study examines the relationship between microfinance and poverty alleviation, considering the moderating effect of both digital and traditional financial knowledge, as well as of social capital. The data sample comprises survey responses from 500 clients of conventional and Islamic microfinance institutions in Bhakkar, one of Pakistan’s most dynamic microfinance districts. The empirical results, obtained via structural equation modeling, show that digital financial knowledge positively moderates the relationship between microfinance effectiveness and poverty alleviation. A similar result is found for the moderating role of social capital when traditional financial knowledge is included in the model. However, this is not the case when digital financial knowledge is included in the model. These findings emphasize the importance of promoting both financial literacy and digital skills to maximize the positive impact of microfinance on poverty reduction.

Keywords
digital financial knowledge, microfinance, poverty alleviation, social capital, traditional financial knowledge

Digital Literacy, Digital Entrepreneurial Mindset, and Poverty Alleviation in Vietnam
Loan Ngoc Tuong Pham, Minh Nhat Nguyen, Nhan Truong Thanh Dang, Lam Dang Nguyen

Abstract
Drawing on Social Cognitive Career Theory and the human capital approach, this study examines how digital literacy (DL) shapes the digital entrepreneurial mindset (DEM) and contributes to poverty reduction through digitally driven innovation in Da Nang, Vietnam. Using an exploratory design and thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with 11 entrepreneurs, the findings show that DL enhances entrepreneurial self-efficacy, goal orientation, and outcome expectations, thereby fostering DEM and supporting poverty reduction. As one of the first studies to link DL, entrepreneurship, and poverty alleviation in Vietnam, it provides a foundation for future empirical research on the role of entrepreneurs’ digital skills in sustainable development.

Keywords
digital entrepreneurial mindset, digital literacy, entrepreneurial innovation, poverty reduction, Vietnam