The role of social capital and psychological need on students’ social entrepreneurial motivation

Purpose Social communication and interaction toward bonding and bridging social capital has emerged as a new point to facilitate social entrepreneurship development among youth. This study aims to investigate how social capital influences personal and social needs. Design/methodology/approach The sample consists of 821 students from four regions in Indonesia filled out the questionnaire. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the research hypotheses. Findings The empirical results indicate that bridging social capital does not have a positive effect on students’ personal needs, whereas it has a positive effect on social needs. Conversely, bonding social capital positively impacts students’ basic needs. Furthermore, students’ personal and social needs partially mediate social capital and students’ social entrepreneurship motivation. Interestingly, religion plays an important role in moderating students’ basic need and motivation for social entrepreneurship. Research limitations/implications This study was limited to Indonesian university students. Future study should uncover how cultural norms and values shape the interplay between social capital, personal and social needs and social entrepreneurial motivation. Practical implications University and regulator should develop a popular program to support social entrepreneurship among student. Originality/value This study extends the literature toward a theory incorporating social capital, basic need, religion and social entrepreneurship motivation.