Muhammad Iqbal Rezky, M. Yunasri Ridhoh
Social entrepreneurship has emerged as a key approach to addressing persistent social problems. In Indonesia, challenges such as poverty, youth unemployment, and widening social inequality increase the urgency for community-based solutions that empower young people to create social value. However, empirical evidence on how broad civic behaviors, particularly active citizenship, influence students’ social entrepreneurial intentions (SEI) remains limited. This study examines the relationship between active citizenship and social entrepreneurial intention, with self-efficacy and empathy as mediating variables. Using a quantitative approach, data were collected from 511 university students through purposive sampling and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that active citizenship has a significant direct effect on SEI (β = 0.424; p < 0.001), while self-efficacy (β = 0.264; p < 0.001) and empathy (β = 0.082; p < 0.001) act as partial mediators in this relationship. These findings highlight that students’ engagement in civic and community activities not only enhances social awareness but also builds the confidence and emotional responsiveness essential for developing social entrepreneurial intentions. This study contributes to the SEI literature by integrating civic engagement into the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework and demonstrating how active citizenship serves as a sociocultural antecedent of prosocial entrepreneurial motivation. The findings have practical implications for universities and policymakers in designing learning models and empowerment programs that cultivate empathy, efficacy, and civic participation among students. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2025.
Indonesia University of Education, Bandung, Indonesia; State University of Makassar, Makassar, Indonesia
