Young adults’ pathway to digital entrepreneurship: from ideas to innovation

Purpose This study aims to investigate the digital entrepreneurial intentions of Albanian youth, identify the obstacles they face in starting digital businesses and examine their preferences regarding the types of businesses they aspire to establish. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is used as a framework to analyze these factors. Design/methodology/approach Primary data were collected via questionnaires distributed in public and private universities. In a sample of 325 students, Structural Equation Modeling with Confirmatory Factor Analysis, path analysis and machine learning-based text analysis were used. Findings This study reveals significant impacts of innovativeness, attitude towards entrepreneurship, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and self-efficacy on digital entrepreneurial intentions among Albanian students. Additionally, text mining highlights a strong preference for digital entrepreneurship. Research limitations/implications The theoretical contributions of this study include applying Structural Equation Modeling to reveal insights into the impact of entrepreneurial factors and obstacles. The findings can inform policymakers and educators in designing targeted interventions to support student entrepreneurship. Meanwhile, the limitations of this study encompass a small sample size, lack of time series and panel data and the absence of an evaluation of the impact of education system practices, along with the need to investigate the effects of young population emigration from Albania to the EU. Originality/value This research contributes to the understanding of digital entrepreneurial intentions and behavior by using TPB in the Albanian context, offering access to a diverse dataset from Albanian universities, testing the direct impact of innovativeness on entrepreneurial behavior and pioneering the use of machine learning techniques for text analysis. Thus, it provides novel insights into the entrepreneurial landscape in Albania. In addition, this work can drive initiatives to support student entrepreneurship and bridge the gap between academia and industry in Albania.