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This paper aims to examine the emergence of digital entrepreneurship in a conflict environment to explore the emancipatory potential of digital technology in a rare context. The purpose of this paper is to take a micro-level investigation of digital entrepreneurs operating in a violent in-conflict area.

The analysis is based on multiple case studies from a violent conflict zone in India. This study used interview data from 10 digital entrepreneurs from the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Field data was collected with progressive rounds of interviews with the entrepreneurs, supplemented by published statistics and secondary data sources, and analysis was done with the help of qualitative data analysis software NVivo.

The context directed entrepreneurial behaviour and the motivation to start digital ventures. Entrepreneurs realized the potential of technology but its successful use was contingent upon their social positionalities. The digital entrepreneurial engagement of the entrepreneurs is classified into four dimensions: social digital entrepreneurship; business entrepreneurship; knowledge entrepreneurship; and institutional entrepreneurship.

The findings of the study contribute to the digital entrepreneurship literature by illustrating how a rare context influences venturing into technology sectors. The study advances the creative technology use, these in-conflict entrepreneurs with their existing resources maneuvered to create socially ingrained digital ventures. The study provides evidence to “conditional emancipation” attributable to digital entrepreneurship owing to the conflictual context in question.

Digital entrepreneurship is a highly topical, sub-specialist and contemporary branch of entrepreneurship which is providing ever-increasing range of platforms for pursuing entrepreneurship-related career options. While the academic discourses in this area are increasingly growing, there is an equal level of scant attention paid to inquire how proclivity toward this career choice is developed and influenced. In the present study, this gap has been addressed by identifying major antecedents of digital entrepreneurship intentions under the aegis of capital theory.

Using the survey data from 287 respondents, structural equation modeling was utilized to explore the association of four antecedents: digital entrepreneurial competence, innovative cognition, social media adroitness and digital entrepreneurship role models on the goal intentions. Subsequently the association between goal intention and implementation intention to start a digital venture was also examined.

The analysis confirms the significant impact of the identified antecedents on the digital entrepreneurial volition of potential entrepreneurs. Our results demonstrate that innovativeness has the greatest impact on the goal intentions to create new digital ventures followed by the presence of role models. Digital competence is also a significant contributor in enhancing the propensity to start digital ventures while being digitally adroit has the least impact on such inclination. Lastly, our study provides empirical evidence to the linkage between goal and implementation intentions.

This paper informs practice on entrepreneurship education especially the role of skill-based education programs to enhance the information technology–related knowledge of students and incubation support for hands-on-training on the various dimensions of digital ventures. At policy-level institutions providing entrepreneurial education can design special tasks and learning activities that are focused on acquainting students with design thinking perspectives and lean start-up approaches.