Networks, Leadership, and War: Social Entrepreneurial Intention Among Ukrainian Entrepreneurs During Active Armed Conflict

In this paper, we explore relationships between individual-level characteristics, psychological drivers and Social Entrepreneurial Intention (SEI) of 182 Ukrainian entrepreneurs surveyed in October and November 2022 in the context of active armed conflict. Ordered logistic regression analysis, based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, Social Cognitive Career Theory, and Self-Determination Theory, shows that social networks and perceived leadership capacity are the only consistent predictors of SEI across all model specifications and robustness tests. Perceived government support, grit, resilience, creativity, and training-related variables do not show robust direct effects. Our findings suggest that relational embeddedness and mobilising capacity are the core predictors of conflict-zone social entrepreneurial intention, with implications for post-conflict entrepreneurship policy.