A conceptual model of social entrepreneurial intention

Abstract

The emerging concept of social entrepreneurship (SE) has attracted the attention of researchers in the last few years. Social entrepreneurs are motivated to tackle social problems via business technics, the problems that neither the government nor the non-profit sector could solve to date. In fact, they are considered important actors of the economic system and change-makers in the world. Hence, it is very timely to investigate factors that determine the intention of individuals to be a social entrepreneur. Drawing from the theory of social entrepreneurial behaviour this paper aims to formulate a new conceptual model by reviewing the literature and identifying existing gaps. We suggest that first; the intention of social entrepreneurs are influenced by empathy, proactively and religiosity as the proxy to attitude, and then, by social entrepreneurial self-efficacy and subjective norms. Additionally, the relationship between empathy and social entrepreneurial intention (SEI) is moderated by gender. The proposed conceptual model contributes to the body of knowledge by extending theory and new relationships.