Building the Next Generation of Digital Entrepreneurs Through the Role of Education and Passion in Nascent Entrepreneurial Behaviour

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-754-5_13How to use a DOI?

Keywords

digital entrepreneurial education; entrepreneurial passion; nascent entrepreneurial behaviour; digital entrepreneurship; university students

Abstract

Despite the rapid growth of Indonesia’s digital economy and increasing investment in digital entrepreneurship education, many university students remain insufficiently engaged in nascent entrepreneurial behaviour (NEB). This suggests that educational experiences alone may not be sufficient to stimulate entrepreneurial action. This study examines the mediating role of entrepreneurial passion (EP) in the relationship between digital entrepreneurial education (DEE) and NEB among university students.

A quantitative survey was conducted among 400 students enrolled in Entrepreneurship Study Programs at higher education institutions under LLDIKTI Region IV, Indonesia. Data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).

The results indicate that DEE positively influences EP (β = 0.577, p < 0.001) and NEB (β = 0.121, p = 0.008), while EP positively influences NEB (β = 0.679, p < 0.001). Furthermore, EP significantly mediates the relationship between DEE and NEB (β = 0.392, p < 0.001), with the indirect effect substantially stronger than the direct effect. These findings suggest that entrepreneurial passion functions as the dominant mechanism through which digital entrepreneurial education is translated into entrepreneurial action.

This study contributes to the entrepreneurship education literature by demonstrating that the effectiveness of DEE depends not only on competency development but also on the cultivation of entrepreneurial passion. The findings highlight the importance of integrating affective engagement into entrepreneurship education to encourage students’ participation in early-stage entrepreneurial activities.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this license to share adapted material derived from this chapter or parts of it.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Maisa Azizah Asmara
AU  - Hari Mulyadi
AU  - Heny Hendrayati
AU  - Mokh Adib Sultan
AU  - Rivaldi Arissaputra
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/02
TI  - Building the Next Generation of Digital Entrepreneurs Through the Role of Education and Passion in Nascent Entrepreneurial Behaviour
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Digital Transformation in Business and Organisations (ICDTBO 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 138
EP  - 147
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-754-5_13
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-754-5_13
ID  - Asmara2026
ER  -