소상공인의 창업가특성과 시장특성이 디지털 리터러시를 매개로 사업성과에 미치는 영향

Currently, small business owners are facing a situation where it is difficult to run their business in the existing way due to the spread of digital technology and the prolonged COVID-19. As a necessary competency for them, this study focused on digital literacy and examined the relationship between digital literacy and individual and market characteristics, business performance of small business owners. The specific research purpose is to examine the effect of entrepreneurial characteristics, which are individual factors, and market characteristics, which are environmental factors, on business performance and the mediating effect of digital literacy. In previous studies, various factors explaining the business performance of small business owners were reviewed, and innovation and self-determination, which are entrepreneurial characteristics of small business owners, and market competition and growth were derived as independent variables, and financial and non-financial performance were set as dependent variables. The hypothesis was established as digital literacy was expected to play a role in mediating the relationship between independent and dependent variables. For empirical research, a survey was conducted on small business owners across the country, and the analysis results are summarized as follows. It was found that the innovation and self-determination of small business owners had a positive (+) significant effect on financial and non-financial performance. In addition, it was confirmed that the degree of competition in the market had no significant effect on financial and non-financial performance, and that the growth of the market had a significant positive (+) effect on financial and non-financial performance. In the case of the mediating effect of digital literacy, it was confirmed that innovation had a partial mediating effect on non-financial performance, and digital literacy had a complete mediating effect on the effect of market competition on financial and non-financial performance. Finally, it was confirmed that digital literacy has a partial mediating effect on the effect of market growth on non-financial performance. Looking at the results, it can be seen that the entrepreneurial characteristics of small business owners, which correspond to innovation and self-determination, directly act as a factor to increase business performance, and market characteristics indirectly increase digital literacy to achieve results. Based on the above research results, the implications and limitations of the study and future research directions were presented together.