Digital Marketing, Fintech Literacy, Financial Management, and Income Growth among Student Entrepreneurs

Abstract

Student entrepreneurship has become increasingly intertwined with digital platforms and technology-enabled financial services, making digital and financial capabilities potentially important for sustaining business income. This study examined the relationships between digital marketing, fintech literacy, financial management, and income growth among student entrepreneurs in Medan, Indonesia. A quantitative approach was employed using questionnaire data collected from 100 student entrepreneurs. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4.0. The results showed that digital marketing was positively and significantly associated with income growth (β = .344, p < .001), fintech literacy demonstrated a positive and significant relationship with income growth (β = .262, p = .009), and financial management was also positively and significantly associated with income growth (β = .403, p < .001). Among the three predictors, financial management showed the largest standardized path coefficient, indicating the strongest relative structural association with income growth. Collectively, digital marketing, fintech literacy, and financial management explained 79.4% of the variance in income growth (R² = .794). These findings indicate that income growth among student entrepreneurs is associated with complementary digital and financial capabilities, particularly the ability to expand market reach through digital marketing, understand and utilize fintech services, and manage business finances systematically. The study provides context-specific empirical evidence supporting the integrated development of digital marketing, fintech literacy, and financial management capabilities to strengthen the business activities of student entrepreneurs.