Perception and application of digital tools in the development of university entrepreneurial initiatives.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29105/vtga12.2-1272Keywords:
digital entrepreneurship, digital competencies, university students, SPSS, educational innovationAbstract
The rapid digitalization of the economy requires higher education institutions (HEIs) to train professionals capable of transforming ideas into technology-based businesses. However, numerous studies report a scarce transfer of digital skills to university entrepreneurship. This paper investigates the relationship between the frequency of use of digital tools -e.g., cloud suites, No-Code platforms and generative AI applications- and the perceived usefulness of these tools to drive innovation projects. A 37-item Likert-type questionnaire was administered to 137 undergraduate students from a Mexican public university. The design was non-experimental, cross-sectional and correlational. Analyses in SPSS 29 showed excellent scale reliability (α = 0.93), a positive and significant correlation between use and utility (ρ = 0.26, p = .002), and no substantive differences by career (Kruskal-Wallis, p = .24). A hierarchical linear regression revealed that digital self-efficacy and training received double the variance explained in perceived usefulness (ΔR² = .12, p < .01). The findings confirm digital fluency theory and suggest that frequency of use is a necessary but insufficient factor in empowering ventures. We discuss curricular implications and propose future directions-including longitudinal analyses and structural equation modeling-to better understand the underlying mechanisms.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Cynthia Lizbeth Brosig-Rodriguez; Mayra Elizabeth Brosig-Rodriguez, Claudia Ivonne Niño-Rodriguez
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