REFRAMING THE 5M FRAMEWORK IN THE DIGITAL ERA THE MEDIATING ROLE OF DIGITAL CONFIDENCE AND SOCIAL CAPITAL IN WOMEN-OWNED TECH ENTERPRISES

Abstract

This paper examines how digital confidence and social capital mediate the process of surmounting the hurdles of women in the tech industry as entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, despite the increasing participation of women in technologically based businesses, they are still facing significant structural, family, and market issues. This paper uses the 5M Framework and new variables in the digital form to examine how digital confidence, or the ability to use digital resources efficiently, and social capital, or the networks and ties that entrepreneurs develop, can influence the success of an entrepreneur. With a quantitative approach, 250 women in the tech business were surveyed in an attempt to establish how these factors impacted business performance. These findings prove that the importance of digital confidence and social capital as antecedents of entrepreneurial success is shown, and social capital is the mediator between digital confidence and business growth. These results prove that digital skills and strong ties are key factor in ensuring that women can beat the challenges of the industry to emerge successful in the male-dominated industry.