Unveiling the Role of Structural,Relational and Cognitive Social Capital Dimension in Explaining Female Business Students’ Entrepreneurial Intention in Small Island Developing States: The Maldives

Abstract

Female entrepreneurship has emerged as a matter of concern in recent years, making a significant contribution towards economic development, job creation and uplifting communities. However, the interplay and nuances of female entrepreneurship and social capital are currently understudied. In context of small island developing states, the present study investigates the role of structural social capital (SSC), relational social capital (RSC) and cognitive social capital (CSC) in shaping female cognitive mechanism which leads to entrepreneurial intention (EI) in Maldives. A total of 325 responses from ten tertiary educational institutions in Maldives were collected and subsequently analysed using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The data subject to revealed that SSC and CSC play an important role in promoting female attitudes towards entrepreneurship (ATE), perceived subjective norms (SN) and perceived behavioural control (PBC), while RSC only promotes female ATE and SN, but it negatively affects females’ PBC. These findings provide policymakers and ecosystem players with important insights into social capital, highlighting the need for role models and mentorship in formulating the right environment for women entrepreneurs in Maldives. This study argues for the need to integrate the influence of social capital on female EI.

Keywords

Female entrepreneur Maldives small island developing state social capital

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adekiya

, & Ibrahim

(2016). Entrepreneurship intention among students: The antecedent role of culture and entrepreneurship training and development. The International Journal of Management Education , 14(2), 116–132.

Ajzen

(1991). The theory of planned behaviour, organizational behaviour and human capital and overconfidence. Journal of Contemporary Management Research , 13(2), 143–162.

Ajzen

(2001). Nature and operation of attitudes. Annual Review of Psychology , 52(1), 27–58.

Ajzen

, & Cote

N. G.

(2008). Attitudes and the prediction of behaviour. In Crano

W. D.

& Prislin

(Eds.), Attitudes and attitude change . Psychology Press.

Ajzen

, Czasch

, & Flood

M. G.

(2009). From intentions to behaviour: Implementation intention, commitment, and conscientiousness. Journal of Applied Social Psychology , 39(6), 1356–1372.

Ali

T. B.

(2016). Explaining the intent to start a business among Saudi Arabian university students. International Review of Management and Marketing , 6(2), 345–353.

Ali

, & Yousuf

(2019). Social capital and entrepreneurial intention: Empirical evidence from rural community of Pakistan. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship , 9(64). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40497–019-0193-z

Al-Jubari

, Hassan

, & Linan

(2019). Entrepreneurial intention among university students in Malaysia: Integrating self-determination theory and the theory of planned behavior. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal , 15(4), 1323–1342. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365–018-0529–0

Bernardus

, Sintha

, & Utami

G. W.

(2017). Attitude, subjective norms, perceived behaviour, entrepreneurship education and self-efficacy toward entrepreneurial intention university student in Indonesia. European Research Studies Journal , 20(2A), 475–495.

10.

Bhaskar

A. U.

, & Garimella

(2017). A study of predictors of entrepreneurial intentions: Development of comprehensive measures. Global Business Review , 18(3), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972150917701782

11.

Bourdieu

(1985). The form of capital. In Richardson

J. G.

(Ed.), The handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). Greenwood Press.

12.

Cain

M. K.

, Zhang

, & Yuan

K. H.

(2016). Univariate and multivariate skewness and kurtosis for measuring nonnormality: Prevalence, influence and estimation. Behavior Research Methods , 49(1), 1716–1735.

13.

Chell

(2013). Review of skill and the entrepreneurial process. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research , 19(1), 6–31.

14.

Cheng

, & Liao

(2020). Connecting social capital, cognitive bias, and entrepreneurial intentions: About gender differences. Contemporary Management Research , 16(1), 1–34.

15.

Chin

W. W.

(2010). How to write up and report PLS analyses . Springer.

16.

Chiu

, Hsu

, & Wang

E. T. G.

(2006). Understanding knowledge sharing in virtual communities: An integration of social capital and social cognitive theories. Decision Support Systems , 42(3), 1872–1888. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2006.04.001

17.

Coleman

J. S.

(1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. The American Journal of Sociology , 94(1), 95–120.

18.

Dahl

M. S.

, & Sorenson

(2009). The embedded entrepreneur. European Management Review , 6(3), 172–181. https://doi.org/10.1057/emr.2009.14

19.

Davidson

, & Honig

(2003). The role of social and human capital among nascent entrepreneurs. Journal of Business Venturing , 18(3), 301–333. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883–9026(02)00097–6

20.

Derks

, Van Laar

, & Ellemers

(2016). The queen bee phenomenon: Why women leaders distance themselves from junior women. The Leadership Quarterly , 27(3), 456–469.

21.

Doanh

(2021). The role of contextual factors on predicting entrepreneurial intention among Vietnamese students. Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review , 9(1), 169–188.

22.

Doh

, & Zolnik

E. J.

(2011). Social capital and entrepreneurship: An exploratory Analysis. African Journal of Business Management , 5(12), 4961–4975.

23.

Evermann

, & Tate

(2016). Assessing the predictive performance of structural equation model estimators. Journal of Business Research , 69(10), 4565–4582.

24.

Faul

, Erdfelder

, Buchner

, & Lang

A. G.

(2009). Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression analyses. Journal of Behaviour Research Methods , 41(4), 1149–1160.

25.

Faul

, Erdfelder

, Lang

A. G.

, & Buchner

(2007). G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioural, and biomedical sciences. Journal of Behaviour Research Methods , 39(2), 175–191.

26.

Fishbein

, & Ajzen

(1975). Belief, attitude, intention and behavior: An introduction to theory and research . Addison-Wesley.

27.

Fornoni

, Arribas

, & Vila

J. E.

(2012). An entrepreneur’s social capital and performance: The role of access to information in the Argentinean case. Journal of Organizational Change Management , 25(5), 682–698.

28.

Gibson

D. E.

(2004). Role models in career development: New directions for theory and research. Journal of Vocational Behavior , 65(1), 134–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001–8791(03)00051–4

29.

Hair

J. F.

, Black

W. C.

, Babin

B. J.

, & Anderson

R. E.

(2010). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Pearson.

30.

Hair

J. F.

, Hult

G. T. M.

, Ringle

C. M.

, & Sarstedt

(2017). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) . Sage Publications.

31.

Hair

J. F.

, Risher

J. J.

, Sarstedt

, & Ringle

C. M.

(2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review , 31(1), 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11–2018-0203

32.

Hair

J. F.

, Sarstedt

, Ringle

C. M.

, & Gudergan

S. P.

(2018). Advanced issues in partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) . Sage Publications.

33.

Haring

(2018). How student entrepreneurs develop their social network over time during the process of starting a company. Business and Management Studies , 4(1), 68–80. https://doi.org/10.11114/bms.v4i1.2979

34.

Henseler

, Ringle

C. M.

, & Sarstedt

(2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science , 43(1), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747–014-0403–8

35.

Henseler

, Ringle

C. M.

, & Sinkovics

R. R.

(2009). The use of partial least squares path modeling in international marketing . Emerald Publishing.

36.

Hussain

, & Khan

(2016). Examining the relationship between social capital and self-efficacy: A study amongst postgraduate students. Journal of Knowledge Management , 6(1), 1–10.

37.

International Labour Organization. (2020). Maldives employment and environmental sustainability fact sheet 2019. https://www.ilo.org/asia/publications/issue-briefs/WCMS_625982/lang-en/index.htm

38.

Kline

R. B.

(1998). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (1st ed.). Guilford Press.

39.

Kline

R. B.

(2010). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.

40.

Klyver

(2007). Sifting family involvement during the entrepreneurial process. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research , 13(5), 258–277. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552550710780867

41.

Kong

, Zhao

, & Tsai

C.-H.

(2020). The relationship between entrepreneurial intention and action: The effects of fear of failure and role model. Frontiers in Psychology , 11(229), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00229

42.

Kowang

T. O.

, Apandi

S. Z.

, Hee

O. C.

, Fei

G. C.

, Saadon

M. S.

, & Othman

M. R.

(2021). Undergraduates’ entrepreneurial intention: Holistic determinants matter. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education , 10(1), 57–64.

43.

Krishnan

, Martin

, & Noorderhaven

N. G.

(2006). When does trust matter to alliance performance? Academy of Management Journal , 49(5), 894–917.

44.

Krueger

N. F.

(1993). The impact of prior entrepreneurial exposure on perceptions of new venture feasibility and desirability. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice , 18(1), 5–21.

45.

Krueger

N. F.

, & Carsrud

A. L.

(1993). Entrepreneurial intentions: Applying the theory of planned behaviour. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Regional Development , 5(4), 315–330.

46.

Krueger

N. F.

, Reilly

M. D.

, & Carsrud

A. L.

(2000). Competing models of entrepreneurial intentions. Journal of Business Venturing , 15(5–6),411–432. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883–9026(98)00033–0

47.

Kruja-Demneri

(2020). Entrepreneurial orientation, synergy and firm performance in the agribusiness context: An emerging market economy perspective. Central European Business Review , 9(1), 56–75. https://doi.org/10.18267/j.cebr.229

48.

Kumar

, & Shukla

(2019). Creativity, proactive personality and entrepreneurial intentions: Examining the mediating role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Global Business Review , 23(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972150919844395

49.

Kwon

, & Adler

P. S.

(2014). Social capital: Maturation of a field of research. Academy of Management Review , 39(4), 412–422. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2014.0210

50.

, Wang

, Huang

, & Bai

(2013). How does social capital hinder new business development? A relational embeddedness perspective. Journal of Business Research , 66(12), 2418–2424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.05.029

51.

Liao

, & Welsch

(2005). Roles of social capital in venture creation: Key dimensions and research implications. Journal of Business and Management , 43(4), 345–362. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540–627X.2005.00141.x

52.

Liñán

(2008). Skill and value perceptions: How do they affect entrepreneurial intentions? International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal , 4(3), 257–272. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365–008-0093–0

53.

Liñán

, & Chen

(2009). Development and cross-cultural application of a specific instrument to measure entrepreneurial intentions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice , 33(3), 593–617. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540–6520.2009.00318.x

54.

Liñán

, & Fayolle

(2015). A systematic literature review on entrepreneurial intentions: Citation, thematic analyses, and research agenda. International Entrepreneurship Management Journal , 11(4), 907–933.

55.

Liñán

, & Santos

F. J.

(2007). Does social capital affect entrepreneurial intentions? International Advances in Economic Research , 13(4), 443–453.

56.

W.-C.

, & Chen

W.-H.

(2013). A study on female entrepreneurs’ behaviour in micro-enterprises in Taiwan—An application of planned behaviour theory. The Journal of Global Business Management , 9(1), 204–219.

57.

Manzanera-Román

, & Brändle

(2016). Abilities and skills as factors explaining the differences in women entrepreneurship. Suma De Negocios , 7(1), 38–46.

58.

Marlow

, & Patton

(2005). All credit to men? Entrepreneurship, finance and gender. Journal of Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice , 29(6), 717–735.

59.

Maulana

H. D.

(2009). Promosi Kesehatan . Penerbit Buku Kedokteran EGC.

60.

McKeever

, Anderson

, & Jack

(2014). Entrepreneurship and mutuality: Social capital in processes and practices. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development , 26(5–6),453–477. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2014.939536

61.

Ministry of Economic Development, Maldives. (2023). Trade promotion . Government of Maldives. https://trade.gov.mv/

62.

Ministry of Higher Education Maldives. (2020). Higher education statistics 2019. https://www.mohe.gov.mv/images/resources/resources/Higher%20Education%20Statistics%202019.pdf

63.

Minuto

(2018). Characterization of entrepreneurial intention in university students as from systemic entrepreneurship intention model: A case study. Cuadernos de Gestion , 18(2), 95–114. https://doi.org/10.5295/cdg.160670jt

64.

Nahapiet

, & Ghoshal

(1998). Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. Academy of Management Review , 23(2), 242–266.

65.

Neergaard

, Shaw

, & Carter

(2005). The impact of gender, social capital and networks on business ownership: A research agenda. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research , 11(5), 338–357. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552550510614999

66.

Paço

A. M. F.

, Ferreira

J. M.

, Raposo

, Rodrigues

R. G.

, & Dinis

(2011). Behaviours and entrepreneurial intention: Empirical findings about secondary students. Journal of International Entrepreneurship , 9(1), 20–38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10843–010-0071–9

67.

Pearson

A. L.

, Carr

J. C.

, & Shaw

J. C.

(2008). Toward a theory of familiness: A social capital perspective. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice , 32(6), 949–968. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540–6520.2008.00265.x

68.

Pérez-Macías

, Fernández-Fernández

J. L.

, & Rúa-Vieites

(2019). The impact of network ties, shared languages and shared visions on entrepreneurial intentions of online university students. Studies in Higher Education , 45(12), 2526–2540.

69.

Pines

, Lerner

, & Schwartz

(2010). Gender differences in entrepreneurship: Equality, diversity and inclusion in times of global crisis. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal , 29(1), 186–198.

70.

Poon

W. C.

, & Mohamad

(2020). Organizational context and behavioural complexity affecting ambidextrous behaviours among SMEs. International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior , 23(3), 225–244. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOTB-03–2019-0037

71.

Poon

W. C.

, Mohamad

, & Yusoff

W. F. W.

(2020). Examining the antecedents of ambidextrous behaviours in promoting creativity among SMEs in Malaysia. Global Business Review , 21(3), 645–662. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972150918779267

72.

Poon

W. C.

, & Tung

S. E. H

(2022a). The rise of online food delivery culture during the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis of intention and its associated risk culture. European Journal of Management and Business Economics . https://doi.org/10.1108/EJMBE-04–2021-0128

73.

Poon

W. C.

, & Tung

S. E. H.

(2022b). Consumer risk perception of online food delivery during the COVID-19 movement control order (MCO) in Malaysia. Journal of Foodservice Business Research . https://doi.org/10.1080/15378020.2022.2054657

74.

Porter

M. E.

(1998). Clusters and the new economics of competition. Harvard Business Review , 76(6), 77–90.

75.

Presidency of the Republic of Maldives. (2019). Strategic action plan 2019–2023. https://storage.googleapis.com/presidency.gov.mv/Documents/SAP2019-2023.pdf

76.

Puhakka

(2002). Entrepreneurial business opportunity recognition. Relationships between intellectual and social capital, environmental dynamism, opportunity recognition behavior, and performance (PhD Thesis). University of Vaasa.

77.

Rauch

, & Hulsink

(2015). Putting entrepreneurship education where the intention to act lies: An investigation into the impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial behavior. Academy of Management Learning and Education , 14(2), 187–204.

78.

Ruef

(2010). The entrepreneurial group: Social identities, relations, and collective action . Princeton University Press.

79.

Sambajee

(2015). Government and SMEs in The Maldives and Mauritius. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications , 5(3), 1–26.

80.

Sequeira

, Mueller

S. L.

, & McGee

J. E.

(2007). The influence of social ties and self-efficacy in forming entrepreneurial intentions and motivating nascent behavior. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship , 12(3), 275–293. https://doi.org/10.1142/S108494670700068X

81.

Seuneke

, & Bock

(2016). Exploring the roles of women in the development of multi-functional entrepreneurship on family farms: An entrepreneurial learning approach. NJAS—Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences , 74(75), 41–50.

82.

Shariff

M. N. M.

, & Saud

M. B.

(2009). An attitude approach to the prediction of entrepreneurship on students at institution of higher learning in Malaysia. International Journal of Business and Management , 4(4), 129–135. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v4n4p129

83.

Shirokova

, Osiyevskyy

, & Bogatyreva

(2016). Exploring the intention—Behaviour link in student entrepreneurship: Moderating effects of individual and environmental characteristics. European Management Journal , 34(4), 386–399.

84.

Shirokova

, Tsukanova

, & Morris

M. H.

(2018). The moderating role of national culture in the relationship between university entrepreneurship offerings and student start-up activity: An embeddedness perspective. Journal of Small Business Management , 56(1), 103–130.

85.

Shmueli

, Ray

, Velasquez Estrada

J. M.

, & Shatla

S. B.

(2016). The elephant in the room: Evaluating the predictive performance of PLS models. Journal of Business Research , 69(10), 4552–4564.

86.

Solesvik

(2013). Entrepreneurial motivations and intentions: Investigating the role of education major. Education + Training , 55(3), 253–271. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400911311309314

87.

Solesvik

, Westhead

, Kolvereid

, & Matlay

(2012). Student intentions to become self-employed: The Ukrainian context. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development , 19(3), 441–460. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14626001211250153

88.

Stam

, Arzlanian

, & Elfring

(2014). Social capital of entrepreneurs and small firm performance: A meta-analysis of contextual and methodological moderators. Journal of Business Venture , 29(1), 152–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2013.01.002

89.

Stephan

, & Uhlaner

L. M.

(2010). Performance-based vs socially supportive culture: A crossnational study of descriptive norms and entrepreneurship. Journal of International Business Studies , 41(8), 1347–1364.

90.

Tabachnick

B. G.

, & Fidell

L. S.

(2001). Using multivariate statistics (4th ed.). Allyn & Bacon.

91.

Tsai

K. H.

, Chang

H. C.

, & Peng

C. Y.

(2016). Refining the linkage between perceived capability and entrepreneurial intention: Roles of perceived opportunity, fear of failure, and gender. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal , 12(4), 1127–1145. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365–016-0383-x

92.

Tsai

, & Ghoshal

(1998). Social capital and value creation: The role of intrafirm networks. Academic Management Journal , 41(4), 464–476. https://doi.org/10.2307/257085

93.

van Gelderen

, Brand

, van Praag

, Bodewes

, Poutsma

, & van Gils

(2008). Explaining entrepreneurial intentions by means of the theory of planned behaviour. Journal of Career Development International , 13(6), 538–559.

94.

Vancea

, & Utzet

(2017). Does unemployment and precarious employment lead to increasing entrepreneurial intentions among young people? Results from a survey-based study in Spain. Central European Business Review , 6(2), 5–17. https://doi.org/10.18267/j.cebr.176

95.

Vodă

, & Florea

(2019). Impact of personality traits and entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intentions of business and engineering students. Sustainability , 11(4), 1192. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041192.

96.

Vosta

L. N.

, & Jalilvand

M. R.

(2014). Examining the influence of social capital on rural women entrepreneurship. World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development , 10(3), 209–227.

97.

Wang

, Cai

, Zhu

, & Deng

(2020). Female entrepreneurs’ gender roles, social capital and willingness to choose external financing. Asian Business and Management . https://doi.org/10.1057/s41291–020-00131–1

98.

Wetzels

, Odekerken-Schroder

, & Van-Oppen

(2009). Using PLS path modeling for assessing hierarchical construct models: Guidelines and empirical illustration. Management Information Systems Quarterly , 33(1), 177–195.

99.

Witten

, Frank

, Hall

, & Pal

C. J.

(2016). Data mining: Practical machine learning tools and technique . Morgan Kaufmann.

100.

Yim

S. C.

(2021). When a place is psychologically claimed: The shifting effect of psychological ownership on residents’ support and prevention of local tourism. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism , 35(2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2021.100408