Structural equation model identifies four correlates of Indonesian students’ digital entrepreneurship competence

An explanatory structural equation modeling study of 350 university students in Java and elsewhere in Indonesia identified learning motivation, academic achievement, learning facilities and the quality of the learning process as predictors of digital entrepreneurship competence. The model divided competence into two categories: digital entrepreneurship and digital business competence. Motivation and achievement were internal predictors, while learning facilities and learning-process quality were external predictors.

Their modeled effects differed across the two competence categories, indicating that the broader construct was not associated with all four predictors in exactly the same way. Students were recruited through cluster random sampling from Indonesian universities, with the sample spanning institutions both inside and outside Java. Researchers collected information through questionnaires and document analysis, then used descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling to examine relationships among the proposed variables.

The analysis considered learning motivation and academic achievement as student-level factors and learning facilities and learning-process quality as features of the learning environment. The supplied report does not give numerical coefficients, confidence intervals or other fit statistics, so the magnitude and statistical precision of the relationships cannot be assessed from the available information. Within digital business competence, learning facilities had a greater modeled effect than learning-process quality.

For digital entrepreneurship competence, learning-process quality had the greater effect. Among the internal predictors, motivation and academic achievement had comparable effects on digital entrepreneurship competence, but motivation exerted the stronger effect on digital business competence. The analysis also detected both direct and indirect effects of learning facilities and learning-process quality on the two competence categories.

Thus, the model included pathways linking the learning environment directly to competence and pathways operating indirectly through related variables. The authors reported that the characteristics of the modeled variables were close to the characteristics of students’ digital entrepreneurship competence. This statement was part of the model analysis, but the available evidence does not provide enough numerical information to evaluate the model’s fit in detail.

The reported effects describe relationships within the fitted model and should not be read as proof that changing a motivation, achievement or learning condition would cause a corresponding change in competence. As an explanatory survey of 350 Indonesian university students, the study offers a structured account of factors statistically associated with two forms of digital entrepreneurship competence. Its scope is limited to the sampled student population and the variables included in the structural equation model, and the available report does not establish how well the relationships apply to other regions, institutions or age groups.

The central finding is a differentiated pattern in which learning-process quality is more strongly associated with digital entrepreneurship competence, learning facilities are more strongly associated with digital business competence, motivation has the clearer internal association with digital business competence, and motivation and achievement perform similarly for digital entrepreneurship competence.

Subject of Research: Predictors of digital entrepreneurship and digital business competence among Indonesian university students

Article Title: Predictor variables of students’ digital entrepreneurship competence and their structural equation model

Article References: Wiyono, B. B., Sultoni, Sobri, A. Y., & Wu, H. H. (2026). Predictor variables of students’ digital entrepreneurship competence and their structural equation model. Discover Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-026-04748-8

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s43621-026-04748-8

Keywords: digital entrepreneurship, digital business competence, structural equation modeling, Indonesian students, learning motivation, academic achievement, learning facilities, learning quality, university students, explanatory survey, Predictor, variables