International Journal of Digital Entrepreneurship and Business

Beyond Remittances: Financial Literacy and Business Preparedness Among Indonesian Migrant Workers

Amrie Firmansyah — 2026-10-20

Indonesian migrant workers (IMWs) contribute significantly to Indonesia's economy through remittances, yet the long-term use of migration income remains a concern as they prepare for post-return livelihoods. Existing studies examine financial literacy, remittance use, or entrepreneurship in isolation, offering limited insight into their interconnection in pre-return preparation. This study therefore explores financial literacy, remittance management, business planning, and business preparedness among IMWs in Penang, Malaysia. Using an exploratory qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted in May 2026 with four IMWs and one migrant workers' organization representative, and the data were then analyzed thematically. Findings suggest financial literacy is reflected in goal setting, budgeting, expenditure monitoring, saving, and investment, varying with individual and family circumstances. Remittance management balances household needs, family and educational responsibilities, savings, and investment rather than progressing uniformly from consumption to investment. Occupational skills, prior entrepreneurial experience, financial resources, and family support shape business planning, while business preparedness encompasses capital, business experience, market familiarity, and operational challenges. Viewed through the sustainable livelihoods framework, these interconnected but non-linear practices show how migrant workers mobilize financial, human, and social resources for prospective livelihoods while still abroad, rather than evidencing post-migration reintegration. The findings support integrating financial management and business preparation into migrant support initiatives.

The Influence of Auditor Competence on Audit Qualit y with Auditor Independence as a Moderating Variable

Antonius Juniarto — 2026-10-20

Recurring accounting scandals have raised public concern about audit quality, while prior studies report inconsistent findings on the roles of auditor competence and independence. Drawing on Agency Theory, this study examines the effect of Auditor Competence on Audit Quality, with Auditor Independence as a moderating variable, and also tests the effect of Auditor Competence on Auditor Independence. We used a quantitative approach with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS. We collected data through an online questionnaire from 100 purposively selected auditors working in the Big Four accounting firms (PwC, Deloitte, EY, and KPMG) in the Jabodetabek area. All constructs met the required validity and reliability criteria. The results show that Auditor Competence does not significantly affect Auditor Independence. Auditor Competence and Auditor Independence each have a positive and significant effect on Audit Quality. However, the interaction between Auditor Competence and Auditor Independence is not significant, indicating that Auditor Independence does not moderate the relationship between Auditor Competence and Audit Quality. This study contributes to the auditing literature by distinguishing the direct role of Auditor Independence from its proposed moderating role in the competence–audit quality relationship. Future research should compare Big Four and non-Big Four firms, use probability sampling and longitudinal designs, and consider alternative moderators such as professional ethics, professional skepticism, and client pressure.

Employee Legal Protection in the Digital Economy: A Bibliometric and Systematic Review

Wanda Novita — 2026-10-20

This study examined how research on employee legal protection had developed and how far it had absorbed the governance problems created by digitally mediated work. A hybrid design combining bibliometric performance analysis, term co-occurrence mapping, and systematic review procedures was applied to 2,253 Scopus-indexed records published between 1955 and 2026 and retrieved in September 2026. Topical precision was assessed using a relevance-coded random sample of 200 records, while performance indicators were recomputed for journals-only and high-precision subsets. Output grew at an annual rate of approximately ten per cent between 1995 and 2025, yet the field remained highly fragmented: 94.3 per cent of 4,385 authors contributed only one document, author productivity followed a Lotka exponent of 4.2, and source distribution departed from Bradford’s law. Only 37 per cent of sampled records were core to the topic. Digital themes rose from below 2.5 per cent before 2015 to 23.0 per cent in 2025, while occupational safety declined in relative share. After age normalisation, digital-theme documents were cited above the field average. The findings showed a shift from physical and contractual risks toward informational and algorithmic risks, supporting compliance design for platform-based ventures. This study offered the first field-level bibliometric map of employee legal protection and quantified its digital reorientation.

Understanding Digital Wallet Use Through Financial and Technology Factors: An Extended UTAUT Approach

Fahri Haikal — 2026-10-20

This study aimed to analyze the factors influencing behavioral intention and use behavior regarding digital wallets by extending the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model through the integration of financial literacy. A quantitative explanatory design was employed with 250 digital wallet users in Jakarta, Indonesia, selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Social influence and facilitating conditions positively affected behavioral intention, with path coefficients of 0.395 and 0.340, respectively, whereas performance expectancy and effort expectancy did not have significant effects. Behavioral intention strongly affected use behavior (β = 0.615). Financial literacy neither directly affected use behavior nor moderated the relationship between behavioral intention and use behavior. The findings refine the application of UTAUT by showing that social and facilitating factors, rather than perceived benefits, ease of use, or financial literacy, primarily explain digital wallet usage in this context. Digital wallet providers should strengthen user support, transaction access, and socially reinforced adoption. The study is original in positioning financial literacy as both an external predictor and a moderator in explaining digital wallet use.

Employer Branding, Organizational Attractiveness, and Generation Z’s Intention to Apply in Indonesia

Oliandes Sondakh — 2026-10-20

This study examined whether employer branding influences Generation Z job seekers’ intention to apply directly or through organizational attractiveness, responding to inconsistent evidence on the direct link between employer branding and application intention. Drawing on signaling theory and the instrumental–symbolic framework, a cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Indonesia among 300 active job seekers born between 1997 and 2000, who were selected through purposive sampling. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Employer branding had a strong positive effect on organizational attractiveness (β = 0.772), and organizational attractiveness had a positive effect on intention to apply (β = 0.547). The direct effect of employer branding on intention to apply was small and not significant (β = 0.118), whereas the indirect effect through organizational attractiveness was positive and significant (β = 0.422), indicating indirect-only (full) mediation. These results showed that employer signals shaped application decisions mainly when job seekers translated them into a favorable evaluation of the organization as a place to work. Theoretically, the study positions organizational attractiveness as the evaluative mechanism that links employer signals to behavioral intention; practically, it suggests that employers should invest in credible, experience-based value propositions rather than in visibility alone. The study is original in testing this mediation among older Generation Z active job seekers in Indonesia, a segment largely overlooked by prior student-based studies.