THE ROLE OF PRIOR EXPERIENCE OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS ON SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION AMONG STATE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that might influence the social entrepreneurial Intention of state undergraduate students in Sri Lanka. The Theory of planned behaviour was tested in the context of state undergraduate students in Sri Lanka. Exogenous variables included Personal Attitude, Subjective Norm, Perceived Behavioural control, and Prior experience of social problems on social entrepreneurial Intention were studied. Using validated items from prior literature, the research instrument was developed. Undergraduate students from nine state universities in Sri Lanka provided the data for this quantitative study. Using IBM's SPSS 25 and AMOS 22 software, structural equation modelling was applied to extract insights from the valid data. Outcomes of the confirmatory factor analysis, followed by a structural model evaluation revealed a positive relationship exists between Social Entrepreneurial Intention and Employment attitude and social entrepreneurial Intention and Perceived behavioral control. However, the results did not support the relationships between social entrepreneurial Intention and subjective Norms and prior experiences with social problems and social entrepreneurial attitude. State university graduate unemployment has been a major socio-politico-economic problem in Sri Lanka, and Social entrepreneurship can be proposed as a viable career option. However, limited research has been carried out in the Sri Lankan context. This research will shed light on the antecedent factors that affect social entrepreneurial Intention and assist policymakers in developing appropriate strategies for promoting Social entrepreneurship among undergraduates.