Do perceived barriers always hinder social entrepreneurial intentions among undergraduate students? The roles of self-efficacy and entrepreneurship education

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PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of perceived barriers (PBs) (i.e. perceived lack of support, perceived fear of failure and perceived lack of competency) on social entrepreneurship intentions among undergraduate students with the mediating role of self-efficacy based on the social cognitive career theory. Additionally, this study examines the moderating role of entrepreneurship education (EE) on the relationship between self-efficacy and social entrepreneurship intentions.Design/methodology/approachThe partial least squares-structural equation modeling was employed to estimate the proposed research model with empirical data collected from 476 third- and fourth-year students through structured questionnaires.FindingsThis study revealed various nuances in the impacts of three perceived barrier components on social entrepreneurship intentions through self-efficacy. Specifically, the positive relationship between perceived fear of failure and social entrepreneurship intentions and the negative relationship between perceived lack of competency and social entrepreneurship intentions were significant. However, the direct relationship between perceived lack of support and social entrepreneurship intentions was not significant. Moreover, the results revealed that self-efficacy fully mediates the associations between perceived lack of support and social entrepreneurship intentions and marginally mediates the associations between perceived fear of failure and social entrepreneurship intentions. Furthermore, the moderating role of EE in the relationship between self-efficacy and social entrepreneurship intentions was demonstrated.Research limitations/implicationsThis study does not account for the potentially heterogeneous impact of different groups (e.g. major, working experience, family backgrounds, regions and volunteering experiences) on social entrepreneurship intentions. Second, this study employed a cross-sectional research design, which hinders the generalizability of the research findings due to the sample size and research context.Practical implicationsThe empirical findings imply that stakeholders of social entrepreneurship (policymakers, educators and students) should be aware of the factors that may hinder and/or foster social entrepreneurship intentions, then have actions to govern these factors. Moreover, strategies to enhance the impact of self-efficacy on social entrepreneurship intentions through EE are a fruitful insight.Originality/valueThis study highlighted the diverse effect of PBs (perceived lack of support, perceived fear of failure and perceived lack of competency) on social entrepreneurship intentions through self-efficacy among undergraduate students. In addition, the role of EE in the relationship between self-efficacy and social entrepreneurship is confirmed, which emphasizes the role of higher educators in facilitating students’ social entrepreneurship intentions.