An Empirical Study on Determinants of Intentions toward Social Entrepreneurship among Overseas University Students in China

Abstract

In recent times, there has been an increasing push to develop social entrepreneurship as a strategy for poverty alleviation, rural development and economic growth in most developing countries. This has accounted for several policies to encourage more individuals and organizations to venture into social entrepreneurship yet less is known about the intriguing factors that account for the intentions of especially overseas students from developing countries to venture into social entrepreneurship. Hence, this study applied the Structural Equation Model with Smart PLS software to examine some key determinants of social entrepreneurship intentions from the perspectives of overseas students from developing countries currently studying in China. A total sample of 280 overseas students from the developing countries currently studying at the Jiangsu University in China was randomly selected for the study. The results revealed that Psychological capital, Empathy, moral judgment, knowledge, and social support have significant impacts on social entrepreneurship intentions. Importantly, Psychological capital partially mediates the impact of empathy, moral judgment, knowledge and social support on social entrepreneurship intentions. The study recommends that overseas students in China should be exposed to social entrepreneurial skills and social problems as part of their training to be able to develop their intentions and strong behaviors for social value creation and social entrepreneurship. The results have both theoretical and empirical contributions to extending research scholarship in the field.