Does collaboration in cyberspace promote entrepreneurial intentions? Empirical evidence of digital entrepreneurship among Korean university students in the AI era

Purpose This study explores the impact of collaborative capability of prospective innovators in cyberspace on their entrepreneurial intentions. Collaborative capability within cyberspace refers to the ability to work with others through activities in cyberspace, such as social media. We aim to explore these effects through empirical research targeting university students who are potential future entrepreneurs. Design/methodology/approach This study performs statistical empirical analysis on questionnaire responses based on literature on entrepreneurship and software. Data were collected from 322 four-year university students in South Korea and analyzed using structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings The analysis confirms that students exhibiting higher levels of innovativeness tend to report stronger entrepreneurial intentions and are more adept at engaging in collaboration within digital platforms. Furthermore, the mediation analysis reveals that digital collaboration capability significantly bridges the effects of innovativeness on entrepreneurial intention. Practical implications These findings suggest that innovativeness and cyberspace collaboration capability can enhance entrepreneurial intention. Furthermore, innovative prospective entrepreneurs can increase their entrepreneurial intention through the indirect effect of cyberspace collaboration capability. This implies that developing policies and educational programs that enhance innovativeness and cyberspace collaboration capability can increase entrepreneurial intention among university students. Originality/value This study contributes to the advancement of knowledge in the field of digital entrepreneurship by empirically analysing the impact of innovativeness and cyberspace collaboration capabilities on entrepreneurial intentions of college students in the era of digital transformation and artificial intelligence.