Olha Рrokopenko

Type of the article: Research Article

The conversion of knowledge into organizational and market performance is a central challenge for innovation-driven economies. This study examines how innovation activity and its commercialization shape the entrepreneurial performance of knowledge ecosystems, using green and digital energy start-ups as an empirical context. The aim is to investigate the non-linear relationships among knowledge creation, knowledge commercialization, and start-up development, with particular attention to whether mismatches between innovation activity and market uptake generate diminishing returns or imitation-driven entrepreneurial dynamics. The analysis is based on a balanced panel of 37 countries over the period 2018–2023, comprising 222 country-year observations. The methodology applies TWFE with DK standard errors, complemented by quadratic specifications, turning-point analysis, and lagged models. The findings reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship between innovation commercialization and start-up activity, confirmed by negative, significant squared terms for sales of new-to-market and new-to-firm innovations in green start-ups (β₂ = −0.1588) and digital start-ups (β₂ = −0.1462), with turning points at 0.1428 and 0.0021, respectively. Funding dynamics demonstrate threshold effects: product innovation has a U-shaped relationship with early-stage digital funding (β₂ = 2.0630), while process innovation strengthens later-stage funding for green (β₂ = 1.8100) and digital start-ups (β₂ = 1.8434). The knowledge commercialization gap positively affects digital start-ups (β = 0.1111), suggesting that uncommercialized knowledge may stimulate market entry. Lagged results confirm temporal effects, with past innovation commercialization reducing digital start-up activity (β = −0.2483). Knowledge creation alone does not ensure performance growth; sustainable start-up development requires effective knowledge-to-market conversion.