Researching Data Sovereignty in Digital Entrepreneurship: A Comparative Study of Qualitative and Experimental Designs

Data has become a foundational resource of the digital economy, yet questions of control, trust, and fair value creation remain unresolved. In Europe, data spaces have emerged as federated infrastructures designed to enable secure, interoperable, and sovereign data sharing across organisations. In this evolving landscape, the two key concepts of Data Sovereignty (DSOV) and Digital Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (DEE) are pivotal in understanding the interplay between governance, innovation, and entrepreneurship in decentralised digital environments. Despite the growing relevance of DSOV and DEE in research and policy, the relationship between them has not yet been examined through a coherent methodological lens.
The present thesis aims to address this gap by developing and comparing two research designs for studying the connection between DSOV and DEE in the context of data spaces. The initial design employs a qualitative approach, utilising semi-structured expert interviews to investigate underlying mechanisms, actor perceptions, and contextual barriers to adoption. The second design employs a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE), grounded in random utility theory, to quantify behavioural preferences and attribute trade-offs that influence participation decisions. Utilising a structured Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) framework, both designs are evaluated along three dimensions: epistemic fit, design quality, and pragmatic utility.
The comparison demonstrates that the qualitative design is well suited to conceptual exploration and theory building, while the DCE approach enables empirical generalisation and scenario analysis. The integration of these approaches within a sequential mixed methods strategy provides a robust framework for future empirical research once data collection becomes feasible. Beyond methodological reflection, the thesis contributes to theory by establishing a link between DSOV and DEE through a co-evolutionary perspective, to methodology by demonstrating a systematic design comparison framework without data taking, and to practice by offering guidance for entrepreneurs, data space orchestrators, and policymakers working to shape Europe’s sovereign data economy.