Digital entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan: exploring alertness, opportunity recognition, exploitation and the mediating role of social media use

This study explores the influence of social media on the relationship between alertness and opportunity recognition in digital entrepreneurship. It also investigates hedonic value as a pre-cursor to social media use and opportunity recognition's role in predicting opportunity exploitation. Data from 153 Uzbekistan digital entrepreneurs were analysed using PLS-SEM. Results showed a significant positive relationship between hedonic value and social media use (β = 0.265; p ≤ 0.00). Social media use fully mediated the relationship between entrepreneurial alertness and opportunity recognition (β = 0.12, p < 0.05, bootstrap bias-corrected 95% CI [0.045, 0.25]). Additionally, a significant positive relationship was found between opportunity recognition and exploitation (β = 0.337; p ≤ 0.00). These findings have implications for fostering digital opportunity recognition and exploitation in emerging economies, highlighting the role of hedonic value, social media use, and alertness for digital entrepreneurs.