AI-driven digital ventures: How perceived AI competencies and self-efficacy shape digital entrepreneurial intention

This study examines how artificial intelligence (AI) factors influence digital entrepreneurial intentions by extending the entrepreneurial event model. Specifically, it explores the impact of perceived AI competencies and AI-related self-efficacy on digital entrepreneurial intention through perceived desirability and feasibility. Data from 420 university students were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that perceived desirability and feasibility predict digital entrepreneurial intention. Meanwhile, higher perceived AI competencies and AI-related self-efficacy enhance perceived desirability and feasibility. Mediation analyses reveal that desirability and feasibility collectively transmit the effects of AI factors on entrepreneurial intention, with feasibility demonstrating a particularly strong indirect effect. These findings deepen our understanding of the relationship between technological readiness and entrepreneurial cognition. The implications of this study are crucial for educators and policy makers aiming to enhance digital entrepreneurial skills, emphasizing the necessity for targeted interventions to improve AI competencies and self-efficacy, thereby fostering a more robust entrepreneurial ecosystem.