Digital trade licensing as a trust-mediated value creation platform for female entrepreneurs in Bangladesh

Abstract

Digital trade licensing has emerged as a core component of digital governance reforms aimed at formalizing businesses and expanding economic participation. However, limited empirical evidence exists on how such regulatory digital infrastructures create value for female entrepreneurs in developing-country contexts. This study examines how Bangladesh's Digital Trade License platform functions as a value creation mechanism for female entrepreneurs by integrating technological, behavioral, and institutional perspectives within a trust-centered framework. Drawing on Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), and the Unified Model of E-Government Adoption (UMEGA), the study employs a deductive, quantitative approach. Survey data were collected from 425 female entrepreneurs across Bangladesh and analyzed using SmartPLS 4. Results indicate that effort expectancy, perceived usefulness, subjective norms, and resistance to change significantly influence cognitive trust. Facilitating conditions do not directly shape trust but contribute to value creation by lowering procedural and practical barriers. Perceived security also directly enhances value outcomes. Most notably, cognitive trust emerges as the strongest determinant of conducive value (β = 0.754, f² = 1.642), confirming its central mediating role in translating digital governance features into meaningful entrepreneurial benefits. The findings offer actionable insights for policymakers and platform designers to build trust-enabling regulatory environments supporting women's entrepreneurial participation in developing economies. The study contributes to digital governance and entrepreneurship literature by conceptualizing digital trade licensing as a value creation platform rather than a purely administrative tool and shifting analytical focus from adoption intention to conducive value.