The Role of Digital and Financial Literacy in Driving Women Entrepreneurial Success: The Mediating Role of Digital Entrepreneurship

Purpose: Grounded in Resource-Based View theory and addressing Sustainable Development Goal 5 (gender equality and women's empowerment), this study has examined how digital literacy, financial literacy, and exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities drive women's entrepreneurial success, with digital entrepreneurship as a mediating mechanism and legal and regulatory support as a moderating factor. Methodology : With 688 women entrepreneurs working largely digital businesses (e-commerce, social media commerce, and online service platforms), A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted in main Pakistani urban centers like Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Karachi. Using a convenience sampling approach the Participants were engaged with the help of women entrepreneur associations, professional networks, and social media groups. By using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in Smart PLS 4, data analysis was carried out. Given the appropriateness for prediction-focused research with non-normal data distributions, PLS-SEM was opted for. Findings : Results validate that digital literacy (β = 0.352, p < 0.001), exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities (β = 0.409, p < 0.001), and financial literacy (β = 0.303, p < 0.001) significantly predict entrepreneurial success. Digital entrepreneurship fully mediates all three relationships; the strongest indirect effect is observed for opportunity exploitation (β = 0.589, p < 0.001), followed by digital literacy (β = 0.336, p < 0.001) and financial literacy (β = 0.100, p = 0.001). Legal and regulatory support significantly moderates the digital entrepreneurship–success relationship (β = 0.273, p = 0.014), amplifying outcomes in more supportive institutional environments. Theoretical and practical Contributions: The study advances Resource-Based View theory by demonstrating how intangible resources (digital and financial literacy) translate into competitive advantage through digital entrepreneurship. It also bridges gender, technology, and institutional perspectives, establishing digital entrepreneurship as a critical mediating pathway rather than just an outcome variable. The findings of the study can be leveraged by organizations to develop targeted training programs that combine digital and financial competencies with opportunity recognition skills, while ensuring alignment with institutional support systems to maximize entrepreneurial success outcomes. Originality: This research has examined the understudied intersection of digital and financial literacies in women's entrepreneurship within South Asian contexts, establishing digital entrepreneurship as a novel mediating mechanism, and providing empirical evidence for the moderating role of institutional support in digital venture success.