DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.188646.2 ISSN: 2046-1402

Digital financial literacy and financial resilience among gastronomic entrepreneurs in the Chiclayo district, Peru

ANDREA JIMENA PERALES LEONARDO, YOJANI JAMILET PEREZ SALDAÑA, VICTOR HUGO PUICAN RODRIGUEZ
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Background the rapid growth of digital financial services has not been matched by an equivalent development of digital financial literacy among small entrepreneurs, which may compromise their financial resilience in adverse scenarios. This study was aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 8, target 8.3, and aimed to determine the influence of digital financial literacy on the financial resilience of gastronomic entrepreneurs in the Chiclayo district, Peru, in 2026, considering the control variables age, gender, educational level, business tenure, and formality status. Methods applied study, quantitative approach, non-experimental cross-sectional design, and explanatory scope. The sample consisted of 179 owners of gastronomic businesses, selected through simple random probability sampling from a population of 333 businesses (95% confidence level, 5% margin of error). A structured 24-item questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale was applied, validated through expert judgement with high reliability in the pilot test (Cronbach’s alpha = .973 for digital financial literacy and.968 for financial resilience). Data were analysed using Pearson correlation, hierarchical linear regression, and partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Results digital financial literacy showed no statistically significant influence on financial resilience (r = −.110, p = .144; hierarchical regression R 2  = .056, F(6,172) = 1.707, p = .122; PLS-SEM β = −0.246, t = −0.951, R 2  = .061); none of its four dimensions was significant either (p > .05 in all cases). Both variables were predominantly at a medium level (67.0% and 69.8% of entrepreneurs, respectively). Conclusions within the context of gastronomic micro-businesses in Chiclayo, individual mastery of digital financial tools was not, on its own, a determining factor of business financial resilience; this capacity may depend more heavily on structural conditions (liquidity, access to formal financing, business formality) that this study did not measure, a hypothesis for future research to test.

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