Digital Literacy and Entrepreneurial Mindset as Predictors of Startup Intentions: The Mediating Role of Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy among University Students

Abstract

This study examined the simultaneous effects of digital literacy and entrepreneurial mindset on startup intentions and tested entrepreneurial self-efficacy as a mediating mechanism among university students. An explanatory quantitative design and cross-sectional survey were used with 221 students at Universitas Negeri Padang. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling in SmartPLS, including measurement-model assessment, structural-model evaluation, and bootstrapping with 5,000 subsamples. Digital literacy and entrepreneurial mindset positively affected entrepreneurial self-efficacy (beta = 0.283 and beta = 0.516, respectively; p < 0.001), while entrepreneurial self-efficacy strongly predicted startup intentions (beta = 0.564; p < 0.001). The direct effects of digital literacy and entrepreneurial mindset on startup intentions were not significant. Their indirect effects through entrepreneurial self-efficacy were significant (beta = 0.159 and beta = 0.291; p < 0.001), indicating full mediation. Digital literacy and entrepreneurial mindset strengthen startup intentions primarily when they increase students' entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Universities should therefore combine digital skill development and opportunity recognition with practice-based activities that build confidence in executing startup tasks.