Entrepreneurial Opportunity Identification: Integrating Risk, Expertise, social media, Self-Efficacy, and Digital Literacy
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The dynamic and evolving nature of entrepreneurial environment in the current times makes a sophisticated grasp of the variables affecting opportunity identification imperative. The current study examined the complex links between past knowledge, a tendency towards taking risks, and social media utilization in the context of identifying business opportunities. According to the study, self- efficacy plays a critical mediating role in determining the effect of these independent characteristics on the recognition of entrepreneurial possibilities. Additionally, the study also investigated the influence of digital literacy on the character and strength of these interactions in a moderating way. The suggested study used a mixed-methods approach, combining explanatory questionnaires, a quantitative methodology, and positive epistemological philosophy to capture the complexity of entrepreneurial thought and action. Small-business owners and entrepreneurs from Baluchistan constituted the study's population. Two hundred and twenty (220) entrepreneurs were selected randomly as the study sample. Respondents were given surveys using Google Forms to collect the data. Validity and reliability tests were conducted on the instruments. Following data collection, descriptive, correlation, and regression analyses and Hayes test were performed on the acquired data using SPSS. The findings suggested that: 1) the identification of entrepreneurial opportunities is positively and significantly impacted by prior understanding, social media use, and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. 2) However, the tendency to take risks causes a non-significant and detrimental impact on the discovery of entrepreneurial opportunities. 3) Self-efficacy positively mediates the correlation between entrepreneurial opportunity identification, social media use, and prior knowledge. 4) The moderation study shows that digital literacy doesn't significantly modify the association between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial opportunity identification. The findings would provide insights into the processes that underlie the detection of entrepreneurial possibilities. Moreover, the findings would also have useful ramifications for future business owners, instructors, and legislators. The current study offered a contemporary examination of the cognitive and environmental aspects impacting the recognition and pursuit of entrepreneurial possibilities, since the entrepreneurial landscape is ever evolving in a world that is becoming more digitally connected.
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