The nexus of social cause interest and entrepreneurial mindset: Driving socioeconomic sustainability

Abstract

The importance of entrepreneurial activity as a driver of sustainable economic growth is well established. Interest in social enterprises as a means to fill gaps that exist in society is growing. With the emerging concept of social entrepreneurship in China, this paper aims to examine the relationship between entrepreneurial mindset, individual intention to start an enterprise, the likelihood of actually starting a business and personal interest in social causes. Theoretical models in the field of entrepreneurship study indicate that personal entrepreneurial desire is a strong factor in predicting future business behaviour but there is little in the existing research about entrepreneurial mindset as a predictor of actual activity. Considering entrepreneurship and psychological research and theory, four main psychological entrepreneur traits including chance alertness, risk tendency, tolerance of vagueness and intentional optimism are considered to measure the aptitude towards starting a business. Based on the results of 590 online surveys, the role of entrepreneurial mindset as a predictor is analysed using Correlation, Linear Regression and Multiple Regression Analysis. The findings of this research indicate that social cause interest is unlikely to drive entrepreneurial activity in the absence of structured intervention. The findings contribute to the future development of social entrepreneurial programs, and to the role and assessment of the entrepreneurial mindset of potential social entrepreneurs. The study also provides insight into the perspective of the individual towards the concept of social responsibility.