Amid the deepening integration of the digital economy into youth employment systems, the psychological mechanisms shaping university students’ entrepreneurial intentions remain insufficiently explored. This research seeks to elucidate the mediating and moderating functions of entrepreneurial alertness and motivation within the relationships linking entrepreneurial passion, curiosity, digital competence, and entrepreneurial intention, thereby extending the theoretical framework of digital entrepreneurial behavior. Based on 381 valid survey responses collected from universities and vocational colleges spanning five major regions in China, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied for empirical validation. Findings reveal that digital competence exerts a significant positive effect on entrepreneurial intention (β = 0.238, p < 0.001), whereas entrepreneurial passion demonstrates no significant impact (β = 0.072, p = 0.226), and entrepreneurial curiosity displays a negative association (β = −0.116, p = 0.016). Mediation analysis indicates that entrepreneurial alertness serves as a significant mediator in the pathways through which digital competence (β = 0.117, p < 0.001) and entrepreneurial curiosity (β = 0.032, p = 0.042) influence intention, but not for entrepreneurial passion (β = −0.004, p = 0.467). Moderation tests show that entrepreneurial motivation strengthens the effects of digital competence (γ = 0.110, p = 0.001) and curiosity (γ = 0.068, p = 0.042) on intention, yet it does not significantly moderate the passion pathway (γ = 0.041, p = 0.174). This study clarifies the pivotal mechanistic roles of alertness and motivation within the digital economic context, enriches theoretical understanding of entrepreneurial intention formation among students, and offers theoretical grounding for entrepreneurship education in higher education. © The Author(s) 2025.
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