| Title: | Platform-mediated crisis policy and entrepreneurial ecosystem resilience : evidence from Western Cape SMME support |
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| Authors: | ID Loubser Strydom, Carin (Author)
ID Logožar, Klavdij (Author) |
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| Files: |  https://www.mdpi.com/2813-4176/4/2/8
 RAZ_Loubser_Strydom_Carin_2026.pdf (863,74 KB)
MD5: 0E2962832877758069E78F843C191D35
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| Language: | English |
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| Work type: | Scientific work |
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| Typology: | 1.01 - Original Scientific Article |
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| Organization: | EPF - Faculty of Business and Economics
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| Abstract: | This article examines how platform-mediated crisis policy shaped inclusion and exclusion outcomes for small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in the Western Cape during COVID-19. Integrating a market-failure perspective with entrepreneurial ecosystem theory, we present a theory-driven secondary analysis of 16 qualitative interviews and policy documents. We map five crisis-amplified failures—finance, markets, digital, institutions, and human capital—onto Isenberg’s six ecosystem domains and analyze how provincial interventions, particularly digital marketplaces, voucher schemes, and online coordination tools, functioned as governance mechanisms regulating access, visibility, and participation. The findings show that platform-mediated interventions accelerated coordination and digital market access but disproportionately benefited already connected firms, leaving institutional and inclusion gaps largely unresolved. We conceptualize sub-national crisis response as a form of platform governance and discuss implications for designing more inclusive digital policy infrastructures in middle-income contexts. |
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| Keywords: | COVID-19, platform governance, digital marketplaces, platform-mediated policy, SME inclusion, entrepreneurial ecosystems, sub-national governance |
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| Publication status: | Published |
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| Publication version: | Version of Record |
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| Submitted for review: | 02.03.2026 |
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| Article acceptance date: | 10.04.2026 |
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| Publication date: | 13.04.2026 |
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| Year of publishing: | 2026 |
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| Number of pages: | 22 str. |
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| Numbering: | 4, 2 |
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| PID: | 20.500.12556/DKUM-97772  |
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| UDC: | 338.1:004.738.5 |
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| ISSN on article: | 2813-4176 |
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| COBISS.SI-ID: | 274981123 |
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| DOI: | 10.3390/platforms4020008 |
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| Publication date in DKUM: | 13.04.2026 |
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| Views: | 199 |
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| Downloads: | 5 |
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| Metadata: |    |
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| Categories: | Misc.
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