Supporting Entrepreneurs in the era of Digital Transformation: Shifting Practices, Key Challenges, and Future Outlook

Abstract

In the era of digital transformation, support practices are undergoing profound changes that challenge traditional intervention models, professional postures, and beneficiaries’ expectations. The widespread integration of digital technologies such as collaborative platforms, artificial intelligence, and data analytics tools is reshaping the temporal, spatial, and relational frameworks of support practices, whether entrepreneurial, educational, social, or professional. This evolution raises major issues, including the adaptation of practitioners’ skills, the transformation of evaluation systems, the strengthening or weakening of human connections, as well as questions of accessibility and ethics in digital environments. This article offers a critical reflection on these ongoing transformations by drawing on theoretical contributions from management sciences, organizational sociology, and digital innovation studies. Based on an exploratory study and field observations conducted within hybrid support structures, it highlights emerging dynamics of intermediation, tensions between standardization and personalization, and the opportunities provided by digital environments for rethinking the co-construction of individualized pathways. Finally, prospective avenues are explored, particularly in relation to continuing training, the design of support interfaces, and the governance of digital ecosystems. The aim is to equip practitioners and policymakers with insights to develop more agile, inclusive, and ethical support practices in the context of this digital transformation.