Analyzing the Moderating Role of Smart Business Ecosystem Features in the Relationship between Knowledge Sharing and Entrepreneurship Growth in the Tourism Industry

Objective: Training entrepreneurs in the tourism industry, which is the main source of income and employment in many countries today, can help sustainable development. Also, one of the characteristics of the current era, which is called the knowledge-oriented era, is the rapid changes in technology. In this regard, the aim of this research is to examine the moderating role of smart business ecosystem characteristics in the relationship between knowledge sharing and entrepreneurship growth in the tourism industry.Methodology: This study is applied in terms of purpose, and from the point of view of how to collect data, this study is in the field of descriptive survey research. The statistical population of this research includes industrial and academic specialists and experts in the field of tourism. The sample size of the present research was estimated based on Klein's rule of thumb and, using a random sampling method, 300 people were available, and 382 questionnaires were distributed to prevent the sample size from dropping. In this research, two library and field methods were used to collect data, and the variables investigated in the current study were measured through polling using an "electronic questionnaire". To measure knowledge acquisition and knowledge donation, each with 4 items from the research of Kim and Lee (2014); The characteristics of the smart business ecosystem are 7 items from the studies of Fernandez-Portillo et al. (2024) and finally, the growth of entrepreneurship with 5 items from the studies of De Klerk and et al. Also, the face validity of this questionnaire was confirmed by the opinion of professors and experts in this field, and its content validity was confirmed by the relative content validity index based on the opinions of 10 experts knowledgeable about the research topic, and its reliability or validity was also confirmed with the help of Cronbach's alpha test. In this research, SPSS version 22 and SmartPLS version 3 were used to examine and test the hypotheses.Findings: Each of the dimensions of knowledge sharing; acquiring knowledge with a path coefficient of 0.118 and a significant test statistic of 5.121 and donating knowledge with a path coefficient of 0.360 and a significant test statistic of 9.385 have a significant effect on the growth of entrepreneurship. The characteristics of the smart business ecosystem with a path coefficient of 0.064 and a significant test statistic of 2.753 were able to influence the relationship between knowledge acquisition and entrepreneurship growth. Also, the characteristics of the smart business ecosystem with a path coefficient of 0.057 and a significant test statistic of 2.560 could moderate the relationship between knowledge donation and entrepreneurship growth.Conclusion: Knowledge sharing facilitates the widespread dissemination of critical information and strengthens the creation of innovative business practices and allows entrepreneurs to access valuable resources, absorb technical knowledge, and build relationships in the entrepreneurial networks of the tourism industry. Also, the features of the smart business ecosystem create an environment for sharing knowledge in line with entrepreneurship activities and growth.