The Influence of Family Support, Digital Competence, and Entrepreneurship Education on International Entrepreneurial Intention with Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy as a Mediating Variable on Gen Z Students in Batam City

Abstract

Unemployment remains a persistent challenge in Indonesia because employment opportunities and labor absorption have not expanded proportionately with the number of job seekers. Entrepreneurship offers an alternative, yet international entrepreneurial interest among Generation Z students remains limited. This investigation explores how digital competence, familial support, and entrepreneurship education shape international entrepreneurial intention among Generation Z students in Batam City, a free trade zone, while also assessing whether entrepreneurial self-efficacy functions as an intervening mechanism in these relationships. A quantitative causal-comparative design was applied to 259 students selected through non-probability sampling. Data were obtained through an online survey comprising 25 items and subsequently processed using descriptive statistical procedures and partial least squares structural equation modeling. The empirical results indicate that digital competence and familial support exerted positive and statistically meaningful influences on international entrepreneurial intention. In contrast, neither entrepreneurship education nor entrepreneurial self-efficacy demonstrated a significant direct association with such intention. Moreover, entrepreneurial self-efficacy was not found to serve as a significant intervening mechanism linking entrepreneurship education to international entrepreneurial intention. The distinct contribution of this research lies in its simultaneous consideration of technological capability, household support, educational exposure, and psychological factors as antecedents of international entrepreneurial intention among Generation Z students situated within Batam City’s strategically positioned cross-border economic environment.