The role of AI-related digital competencies in higher education students’ Fintech entrepreneurial intentions: A comparative study of Vietnam and Poland

This study examines how AI-related digital competencies shape Fintech entrepreneurial intentions, extending the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) by integrating self-efficacy and entrepreneurial identity as domain-specific constructs. Data were collected from 1117 university students, including 585 in Vietnam and 532 in Poland, representing contrasting contexts of an emerging and a developed Fintech ecosystem. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and multi-group analysis, the results show that AI-related digital competencies significantly enhance Fintech entrepreneurial self-efficacy and identity, which in turn foster more positive entrepreneurial attitudes. Consistent with TPB, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control are important predictors of entrepreneurial intentions, though their relative influence varies across contexts. In Vietnam, competencies and social norms have a stronger impact, whereas in Poland, perceived control and identity play a more prominent role. Mediation analysis further reveals that self-efficacy and attitudes serve as key mechanisms through which competencies are translated into intentions. These findings contribute to digital entrepreneurship research by demonstrating how technological competencies and psychological resources jointly shape entrepreneurial motivation, and they highlight important contextual differences between emerging and developed economies. • Introduces AI-related digital competencies as a higher-order construct. • Examines how these competencies shape Fintech entrepreneurial intentions. • Tests mediation effects of self-efficacy and identity within TPB framework. • Compares Fintech intention drivers between Vietnam and Poland. • Offers implications for management education in developing AI competencies.