Digital Innovations, the New Driver of Successful Startups?

This study investigates the influence of the use of digital innovations on the business success of firms participating in the Accenture Innovation Awards over the period 2014-2017, in which firms can participate with innovative concepts of maximum three years old. This research shows an increase of the number of concepts that use digital innovations. It also shows an increase of the number of users of concepts that use digital innovations, relative to the number of users of concepts that do not use digital innovations. By using a generalized ordered logistic regression, a significant influence of the use of digital innovations was shown on the turnover of concepts. In contrast to these findings, an ordered logistic regression showed a significantly negative effect of the influence of digital innovation on the number of users of a concept. This study finds, using data of 2,994 participants of the Accenture Innovation Awards, that the trend of digital innovation is not a hype, but is indeed a driver of the creation of new successful businesses in the Dutch innovation ecosystem. Digital innovation is thereby developing as the theory of the Industry Life Cycle suggests, showing an increase of number of firms that use digital innovations entering the market, and a relative growth of the customer base.