Digital adaptability in Lebanese entrepreneurial communities: a study of learning agility, digital self-efficacy and digital resilience in technology-driven ventures

Purpose This study aims to examine how digital literacy shapes entrepreneurial adaptability among Lebanese entrepreneurs embedded in technology-intensive entrepreneurial communities, through the serial mediating roles of entrepreneurial learning agility and digital self-efficacy, moderated by digital resilience. Beyond Lebanon’s crisis setting, it addresses a research tension: how digital capability chains form inside chronically disrupted, community-embedded ecosystems rather than the stable, individually acquired sequences assumed in existing models. Grounded in Social Cognitive Theory, Effectuation Theory, Social Capital Theory and the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, it offers a parallel mediation account of digital adaptability under chronic institutional adversity. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative, cross-sectional survey collected data from 300 Lebanese entrepreneurs in technology-intensive entrepreneurial communities. PLS-SEM (SmartPLS 4.0) assessed direct, indirect and moderation effects, plus model quality via R², f² and Q². Findings Digital literacy significantly predicted both mediators, which in turn positively predicted entrepreneurial adaptability. Both serial indirect paths were significant, confirming a parallel community-embedded developmental mechanism and digital resilience significantly moderated both pathways. The model explained 52.0% of the variance in entrepreneurial adaptability. Practical implications Lebanese community organizations and diaspora networks should sequence digital-readiness programs, literacy first, then agility and self-efficacy, complemented by community-based resilience training to strengthen collective adaptive capacity. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper offers the first empirical PLS-SEM parallel mediation study of digital adaptability in Lebanon, showing how community embeddedness amplifies the path from digital literacy to adaptive performance under institutional adversity, reframing digital resilience as a community-level resource and positioning Lebanon as a theoretically productive extreme-case context.