In a rapidly evolving digital economy, cyberpreneurship has emerged as a pivotal force driving innovation and economic growth. The study applies the Theory of Planned Behaviour in predicting entrepreneurial intention in the context of Malaysia, where the government has actively championed digital entrepreneurship. Drawing from a sample of 473 final-year university students in the Klang Valley region of Malaysia, the study investigates the impact of Individual Entrepreneurial Orientation (IEO) dimensions, namely innovativeness, risk-taking, and proactiveness, on the intention to engage in cyberpreneurship within the context of Digital Free Trade Zones (DFTZ). The study further examines the moderation effect of psychological characteristics incorporating visionary thinking, self-efficacy, opportunism, and creativity to provide a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing cyberpreneurial intentions. With the moderating variable, the paper presents a comprehensive model to investigate the IEO and psychological characteristics contributing to cyberpreneurship intentions and its impact on engagement in DFTZ. An empirical examination of data and hypotheses found that risk-taking (RISK) and proactiveness (PRO) are significantly related to cyberpreneurial intention. Psychological characteristics significantly proved its moderating role in its interaction with innovatiness (INNO), risk-taking (RISK), and proactivness (PRO) in influencing cyberpreneurial intentions (CYBER_PI). Innovativeness (INNO) without the influence of the moderating variable is not significantly related to cyberpreneurial intentions. Engagement with the Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) through the mediating role of cyberpreneurial intentions (CYBER_PI), the innovativeness (INNO) did not succeed. On the other hand, risk-taking (RISK) and proactiveness (PRO) are found to be significant. The paper contributes to the landscape of e-commerce and digital trade literature by advancing our understanding of the factors driving individuals’ intentions to participate in cyberpreneurship and engage in DFTZ. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for policymakers, educators, and entrepreneurs alike.

As digital technologies continue to shape the economy, countries are faced with increasing scrutiny in the use of digital transformation to aid productivity and improve performance. In South Africa, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated Small and medium-sized businesses’ (SMEs’) uptake of digital technologies, as many businesses had to shift their operations online and adopt new digital tools and technologies to solve the challenges posed by the pandemic. This has led to an increased focus on digital transformation mechanisms among South African firms. Therefore, the study examines the effect of digital transformation on the productivity of firms using cross-sectional data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) (2020). The survey was based on firms and is a representative sample of the private sector in the South African economy and covers a wide variety of business environment themes, such as infrastructure, competitiveness, access to finance, and performance indicators. We found that digital transformation improved productivity of South African firms. Furthermore, empirical findings are reassuring robust to the IV-2SLS and quantile regression model, size of business, sectoral and provincial analysis. Finally, we recommend that policy makers should develop and implement initiatives to improve digital infrastructure, including high-speed internet access and reliable connectivity, especially in rural and underserved areas.

This study investigates how financial literacy affects the financial health of Saudi Arabian banking industry workers in Saudi Arabia. The study uses a sample of 183 individuals and a comprehensive framework that includes components like financial behaviour, risk management, financial planning, financial knowledge, financial confidence, financial communication, and overall financial pleasure. The study finds strong positive correlations between many aspects of financial well-being and financial literacy through correlation and regression analysis. Notably, risk management, financial behaviour, overall financial contentment, and financial confidence are all positively impacted by financial literacy. The results underscore the multifaceted character of financial well-being and underscore the critical function of financial literacy in moulding favourable financial consequences. Furthermore, the study pinpoints particular domains in which focused financial literacy initiatives might be executed to augment the general financial welfare of banking industry staff members. The study sheds light on the relationship between financial literacy and well-being in a particular occupational context, which is significant information for both the academic and practical domains. The banking industry needs customized financial education programs because of the social and management ramifications. These programs will help the community’s overall financial health in addition to providing benefits to individual employees. In its conclusion, the study makes recommendations for other research directions, such as longitudinal studies and examinations of the function of digital financial literacy in the changing banking environment.

The integration of digitalization and servitization has become a significant trend in transforming the manufacturing industry due to digital intelligence technology. This paper examines the impact of the integration of digitalization and servitization on the performance of manufacturing companies and how small-scale enterprises can promote digital transformation leading to servitization. The study involved surveying 331 manufacturing companies in China using a seven-point Likert scale questionnaire. Measurement scales were validated using confirmatory factor analysis and discriminant validity tests. Mediation analysis assessed digitalization’s impact on servitization and firm performance. The study’s findings emphasize the significant impact of digitalization and servitization on enterprises’ performance. Digitalization plays a crucial role in mediating this relationship. The study highlights three critical dimensions of digital variables, including digital technology, digital labor, and digital relationship resources, essential in enabling effective servitization. Manufacturing enterprises generally prefer aligning their technology investments and organizational changes within the digitalization framework to implement servitization successfully. The study suggests two integration strategies, namely conservative and aggressive. The finding emphasizes that the convergence of digitalization and servitization leads to a new manufacturing production mode called digital servitization.

The paper at hand analyses the principal-agent relationship, where comparative perspective between principals’ (municipalities) and agents’ (public utility providers) in the field of water and wastewater management is scrutinized. The goal of the paper is twofold: firstly, to present empirical results validating principal-agent relationships that emerged due to the reorganization process of public enterprises; secondly, to highlight the similarities and differences between the perspectives of principals and agents regarding motives, advantages and disadvantages, and price-setting in relation to the reorganization process. The empirical research is based on the primary data collected through two self-prepared and structured online questionnaires—one for municipalities, and the other for public utility providers. The results reveal similarities between public enterprises and municipalities in motivating factors for full municipal ownership. However, differences are seen among the advantages of the reorganization process. Price-setting by public utilities is recognized as a motivating mechanism for agents.