People's human and social capital benefiting careers in entrepreneurship: Adults in China and in the Chinese diaspora

Abstract

A person may develop a vocational intention to become an entrepreneur based on human and social capital. The person's human and social capital depends on social context, specifically whether the person resides in own country or in the diaspora. Using a sample of 7,782 Chinese adults in China and diaspora, we examine the benefits of human and social capital for entrepreneurial intention. Analyses show that residence affects human and social capital, in the way that Chinese in China tend to have higher levels of human and social capital than Chinese in diaspora in intending phase. Surprisingly, the place of residence does not impact entrepreneurial intention. This study seems the first comprehensive and global study comparing human and social capital of the Chinese in China and diaspora. The value is enhanced by having representative samples of adults in China and in the diaspora, enabling generalisation.