The Mediating Role of Technological Self-Efficacy: Social Media’s Impact on Vocational Students’ Entrepreneurial Outcomes in China

This study examines how social media usage influences entrepreneurial outcomes among vocational students in China, with a focus on the mediating role of technological self-efficacy. Grounded in Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), we propose a multidimensional framework integrating social media usage patterns, marketing strategies, and social capital as antecedents, while incorporating emotional behaviour and resource opportunities as parallel mediators. Data from 248 vocational student entrepreneurs actively utilizing social media for business operations were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) via AMOS software. Results reveal that social media usage, marketing strategies, and social capital significantly enhance entrepreneurial success both directly and indirectly. Crucially, technological self-efficacy acts as a robust mediator, explaining how social media interactions translate into improved entrepreneurial outcomes. Additionally, entrepreneurship self-efficacy moderates key pathways, amplifying the impact of resource opportunities and emotional behaviour on success. This research bridges theoretical gaps by empirically validating SCT in the context of China’s vocational education sector and offers practical insights for leveraging social media in nurturing digital entrepreneurship.