Social Entrepreneurship and Volunteering: Moderation Effects of Volunteer Experience Levels on Social Entrepreneurial Intent Model

This study investigates whether an individual’s social work experience impacts the relationship between institutional environmental constructs and the perceived desirability and feasibility of establishing a social venture. It extends Urban, B. and L. Kujinga’s. (2017. “The Institutional Environment and Social Entrepreneurship Intentions.” International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research 23 (4): 638–55, doi: 10.1108/IJEBR-07-2016-0218.) social entrepreneurial intent model by comparing two groups of volunteers in Malaysia with different levels of social working or volunteering experience. The results show that the cognitive environment influences perceived desirability, with a distinctly higher path significance for perceived desirability among individuals with higher levels of experience. Perceived desirability has a relatively more substantial impact on social entrepreneurship intention for highly experienced individuals. Interestingly, the results indicate that neither the regulatory nor the normative environment influences perceived feasibility for either group. Governments and other relevant organisations can utilise these findings to devise better policies for promoting social entrepreneurship.