DIGITAL ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS MODEL FOR CULINARY SMEs: INTEGRATING INTRINSIC TALENT, DIGITAL SKILLS, AND INNOVATION

Abstract

Digital transformation has created new opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to strengthen their competitiveness and resilience, yet the mechanisms through which individual entrepreneurial capabilities and digital competencies contribute to entrepreneurial outcomes remain insufficiently understood. This study develops and empirically examines a digital entrepreneurial success model for culinary SMEs by integrating entrepreneurial talent, digital skills, and innovation. The study employed a quantitative approach using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Data from 69 observations were analyzed using the SmartPLS procedure, including measurement-model assessment, bootstrapping, and predictive relevance analysis. The results indicate that digital skills have a positive and significant effect on innovation (β = 0.636, t = 7.318, p < 0.001) and economic resilience (β = 0.072, t = 2.520, p = 0.012). Entrepreneurial talent also positively affects innovation (β = 0.237, t = 2.062, p = 0.040) and economic resilience (β = 0.071, t = 3.299, p = 0.001). Most importantly, innovation demonstrates a very strong positive effect on economic resilience (β = 0.899, t = 34.794, p < 0.001). The indirect effects further show that innovation mediates the relationships between digital skills and economic resilience (β = 0.571, p < 0.001) and between entrepreneurial talent and economic resilience (β = 0.213, p = 0.037). The model explains 54.6% of the variance in innovation and 96.5% of the variance in economic resilience. These findings suggest that entrepreneurial success in digitally transforming culinary SMEs is not determined solely by individual talent or digital capability, but is substantially strengthened when these resources are converted into innovation.