Driving factors of the Indonesian university students’ economic behavior: the mediating role of economic, digital, and entrepreneurial literacy

Abstract

Having some economic knowledge may encourage individuals and students to have better consideration in making economic decisions, while less capability in dealing with economic literacy may drive economic fragility. Therefore, this study aims to examine the driving factors of the economic behavior of Indonesian university students and examine the mediating role of economic, digital, and entrepreneurial literacy. A quantitative approach using a self-administered survey method was adopted by making university students as the study sample. A total of 560 respondents were involved from visits and online surveys. Furthermore, the data were analyzed using the two stages of structural equation modeling or SEM with IBM–SPSS–AMOS version 28 software. The findings of the thesis indicated that family economic education and lecturer competencies have a significant effect on the economic behavior of students. In addition, family economic education has a significant effect on economic literacy and entrepreneurial literacy. While family economic education has no significant effect on digital literacy. Similarly, lecturer competencies have a significant effect on economic literacy, digital literacy, entrepreneurial literacy, and the economic behavior of students. This study also indicated that economic literacy and entrepreneurial literacy partially mediated the relationship between family economic education and the economic behavior of students. Indeed, the result also showed that economic literacy, digital literacy, and entrepreneurial literacy partially mediated the relationship between lecturer competencies and the economic behavior of students. However, digital literacy failed in mediating the relationship between family economic education and the economic behavior of students. The bootstrapping approach used in the intermediary procedure also produced similar results, thus confirming the role of economic literacy, digital literacy, and entrepreneurial literacy in mediating the relationship between family economic education, lecturer competencies, and the economic behavior of students. Taken together, this study has identified the prominent variables, including family economic education, lecturer competencies, economic literacy, digital literacy, and entrepreneurial literacy, in predicting the economic behavior of students. Accordingly, this thesis provides implications to the economic and entrepreneurial literature on determinant factors affecting the economic behavior of students as well as presents a model for economic behavior among university students in Indonesia. This study extends the knowledge of economic behavior, family economic education, and literacies in the context of university students in Indonesia.