Sociocultural factors and social entrepreneurial intention during the COVID-19 pandemic: Preliminary evidence from developing countries

Abstract

While previous studies on social entrepreneurial intention have evolved more from emotional and cognitive features, far less attention has been devoted to sociocultural factors, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Relying on planned behavior theory and entrepreneurial event model, this study investigates how the university's environment and support system affect the social entrepreneurial intention of university students, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from 530 business students from Bahrain, the Maldives, and Morocco via an online questionnaire and analyzed using partial least square (PLS-SEM) methodology. The findings show that empathy and self-efficacity, which are most responsive to the university's environment and support system, significantly impact social entrepreneurial intention. However, no evidence has been found on how gender diversity impacts the university's environment and support system to raise social entrepreneurial intention. Finally, this paper highlights the relevance of considering sociocultural factors, namely the university's environment and support system, for policymakers, especially those involved in higher education, to boost students' social entrepreneurial intention, particularly in developing countries.

Examining entrepreneurial intentions through the lens of university students' attitudes

“…The influence of subjective norms in the group of students of economics cannot be isolated as a significant factor of entrepreneurial intention (Maresch, Harms, Kailer & Wimmer-Wurm, 2016). Feelings such as empathy, which could also be seen as peer support, and selfefficacy were found to be important determinants of students' social entrepreneurial intentions (Simmou, Sameer, Hussainey, & Simmou, 2023). In Politis, Ketikidis, Diamantidis, & Lazuras (2016), the importance of theoretical antecedents of planned O N L I N E F I R S T behaviour as predictors of (social and commercial) entrepreneurial intentions were determined in a sample of postgraduate students from CEE countries.…”

Factors and challenges affecting Enactus members’ social entrepreneurial actions: a focus group study

“…Several studies have explored factors influencing individuals’ intentions to engage in social entrepreneurial activities. For example, Simmou et al (2023) examined social entrepreneurial intentions among 530 business students from developing countries (Bahrain, the Maldives and Morocco). They reported that empathy, self-efficacy, the university’s environment and the support system influence social entrepreneurial intentions.…”

“…However, despite the growing interest in social entrepreneurship, studies on factors influencing social entrepreneurial actions or behaviours are limited (Akter et al , 2020) a gap this study narrows. Most existing studies focused on social entrepreneurial intentions and the influencing factors (Chikha and Jarboui, 2020; Choi et al , 2021; Hassan, 2020; Hossain et al , 2021; Ko and Kang, 2022; Ko and Kim, 2020; Qing et al , 2023; Seyoum et al , 2021; Simmou et al , 2023; Tan and Pham, 2021; Usman et al , 2022). Although intentions, according to the theory of planned behaviour, predict behaviours (Ajzen, 1991; Otache et al , 2019), it should be noted that not all intentions translate into actions or behaviours in reality (Otache et al , 2019; Rauch and Hulsink, 2015).…”

“…Besides, there is no agreement regarding the factors affecting social entrepreneurial intentions. For example, while some studies suggest that people with a high sense of empathy and moral obligation are likely to become social entrepreneurs (Simmou et al , 2023; Tan and Pham, 2021), others reported that empathy and moral obligation do not have significant impacts on social entrepreneurial intentions (Sousa-Filho et al , 2020; Ukil, 2022). Similarly, some studies reported a significantly positive effect of perceived social impact on social entrepreneurial intention (Usman et al , 2022), while others reported a negative effect (Baierl et al , 2017).…”