The Relationship and Interactions Among Digital Literacy, Innovativeness and Entrepreneurial Inclinations: A Study on University Students

Year 2024, Volume: 13 Issue: 2, 122 - 146, 30.12.2024

Bayram Güven , Burcu Gülsevil Belber , Lokman Dinç

Abstract

Digital literacy, innovativeness and entrepreneurship are recognized as driving forces in the growth and development of the tourism sector. With digitalization, the skills expected from tourism employees in today's conditions can be listed as collaboration, communication, problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, productivity, innovation, entrepreneurship and digital literacy. The skills expected from tourism students are important for sustainable competition and are considered as the key to the financial performance of tourism businesses. The purpose of the study is to determine the relationships among digital literacy, innovativeness and entrepreneurial tendencies of tourism students and to examine the effects of digital literacy and innovativeness tendencies on entrepreneurial tendencies. In the study, survey technique was used to collect primary data. Through convenience sampling technique, 399 questionnaires were obtained. The research data were analyzed using Smart PLS. The population of the study consists of university students and the sample consists of tourism students. According to the findings of partial least squares based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), it was determined that digital literacy tendencies of tourism students have a positive effect on both innovativeness and entrepreneurship tendencies, and innovativeness tendencies have a positive effect on entrepreneurship tendencies. In addition, it has been observed that innovativeness has both a mediating and a positive effect on the effect of tourism students' digital literacy tendencies on their entrepreneurial tendencies. The theoretical and practical contributions of the study are discussed in detail in the introduction and conceptual framework sections.

Keywords

Tourism education, digital literacy, innovativeness, entrepreneurship

Ethical Statement

Çalışma Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli Üniversitesi Etik Kurulu'ndan izin alınarak yapılmıştır.

References

• Aarstad, J., Ness, H., Haugland, S.A (2015), Innovation, Uncertainty and Inter-Firm Shortcut Ties in a Tourism Destination Context. Tourism Management, 48, 354-361.