The Phenomenon of Young Generation (Gen-z), Being More Interested in Making New Businesses on Planner and Wedding Organizations or Event Organizations Nowadays

Abstract

This study investigates the rising phenomenon of Generation Z's (Gen Z) entrepreneurial interest in wedding planning and event organization businesses, fueled by digital platforms and experiential economies amid Indonesia's UMKM growth and youth unemployment challenges. This study aims to uncover the lived experiences driving these intentions through a phenomenologically integrated lens of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), and Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework. Employing a qualitative interpretive design, it draws on in-depth interviews with 25 Indonesian Gen Z entrepreneurs and prepreneurs, analyzed via thematic phenomenological analysis to distill emic essences. The findings reveal that perceived behavioral control emerges as the dominant driver of entrepreneurial intention, with digital experiential self-efficacy acting as a pivotal partial mediator between technological affordances and intentions, while also moderating TOE influences-high self-efficacy amplifies synergies, transforming platform tools and creative teams into scalable autonomy. Importantly, this study contributes to a novel "platform-empowered autonomy" model, extending TPB-SCCT by embedding contextual hybridity and challenging linear predictions with sector-specific lifeworld dynamics in creative services. Practically, it offers actionable frameworks for managers to scaffold self-efficacy via TikTok prototyping and for policymakers to design youth UMKM programs prioritizing agency. These insights not only illuminate Gen Z's transformative role in experiential markets but compel adaptive strategies for resilient entrepreneurship.