Data-driven high-tech entrepreneurship: Empirical evidence from China

This study investigates whether and under what conditions open government data (OGD) promotes high-tech entrepreneurship. Drawing on panel data from 259 Chinese cities between 2007 and 2022, and leveraging the staggered rollout of OGD platforms as a quasi-natural experiment, we implement a multi-period difference-in-differences design. The results show that OGD significantly promotes high-tech entrepreneurship, with the most pronounced effect observed among medium-sized startups. These effects are more pronounced in regions with stronger development of digital technology and industrial co-agglomeration, and in regions with lower administrative monopoly and higher labor costs, while also stronger in industries with higher entry barriers, suggesting that OGD may serve as a critical informational resource that empowers startups to overcome resource constraints and entry barriers.