ICT skills, entrepreneurial self-perceived creativity, and digital entrepreneurship: Insights from the stimulus-organism-response model

•Operational skills positively affect information skills and creative skills.•Information skills, operational skills, and creative skills positively affect entrepreneurial self-perceived creativity.•Entrepreneurial self-perceived creativity positively affects attitude towards digital entrepreneurship and digital entrepreneurial intention.•Attitude towards digital entrepreneurship positively affects digital entrepreneurial intention.•Technology anxiety negatively affects entrepreneurial self-perceived creativity and attitude towards digital entrepreneurship. This study, anchored in the Stimulus-Organism-Response theory, aims to explore how ICT skills-related stimuli (information skills, operational skills, and creative skills) stimulate cognitive organisms (entrepreneurial self-perceived creativity), which, in turn, increases behavioral responses (attitude towards digital entrepreneurship and digital entrepreneurial intention) as well as investigate the detrimental effects of technology anxiety. Employing a cross-sectional design, the study leverages data from a sample of 604 higher education students across six universities in Vietnam. Hypotheses are assessed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results reveal positive influences of operational, informational, and creative skills on entrepreneurial self-perceived creativity, which significantly affected attitudes toward digital entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intention. While technology anxiety negatively impacts entrepreneurial self-perceived creativity and attitudes toward digital entrepreneurship, its significant influence on digital entrepreneurial intention is not observed. The study also unveils the mediating role of entrepreneurial self-perceived creativity in the relationship between ICT skills, technology anxiety, and attitudes toward digital entrepreneurship and digital entrepreneurial intention. The research contributes to the theoretical understanding of digital entrepreneurial ventures, shedding light on the intricate dynamics among ICT skills, entrepreneurial self-perceived creativity, technology anxiety, and entrepreneurial responses. It also explores the applicability of the SOR model in emerging economies, providing valuable insights into the digital entrepreneurial landscape.