Personal initiative, entrepreneurial self-efficacy and social entrepreneurial venture creation

ABSTRACT The addition of new social entrepreneurial ventures to the economy is vital for economic growth and development. However, little is known about the role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and personal initiative in creating social ventures that solve social problems at the bottom of the pyramid. This study examines the mediating role of personal initiative on the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and social entrepreneurial venture creation. With a quantitative methodological approach, hypotheses were statistically tested using structural equation modelling. This study incorporates Personal Initiative Theory and Social Cognitive Theory into an applied theoretical framework that explains the factors that influence social entrepreneurial venture creation. Drawing on a sample of 243 owner managers in Community Based Organisations in Kampala, our results show that personal initiative partially mediates the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and social entrepreneurial venture creation. The study contributes to social entrepreneurship literature using evidence from Uganda, a developing country in Sub Saharan Africa.