Predicting motivational outcomes in social entrepreneurship: Roles of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and situational fit

Abstract This study tests a structural model of self-motivational antecedents and outcomes over the course of social entrepreneurship using data on 158 social entrepreneurs. The model antecedents stem from two categories of perceived variables, self-referent efficacy and perceived situational fit, which can result in pathways toward three outcomes, entrepreneurial goal striving, aspiration, and eudaimonic well-being. Among the five tested antecedents (experience mastery, social assertiveness, autonomy, effectual reward, and pro-sociality), experience mastery, social assertiveness, and autonomy have strong relationships with aspiration and eudaimonic well-being. Effectual reward has significant, but the least, effects on entrepreneurial goal striving. Pro-sociality measurements exhibit strong communality and cross-variability among the other antecedents. The results show that pro-sociality cannot be determined as a discernible source of entrepreneurial motivation but has an antithetical role in volitional intention. This study sheds light on self-motivational constructs that ultimately shape social entrepreneurs’ intention and orientation.