The Role of Emotional Intelligence and Moral Obligation in Predicting Social Entrepreneurial Intention

Abstract

This study aims at identifying the role of emotional intelligence and moral obligation on social entrepreneurial intentions among the students of a premier multi-campus technical university in India using Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) as the research framework. A 54 item questionnaire was responded by 175 students. The data was collected by employing a systematic random sampling method. 59% (N=103) of the respondents were male and 41% (N=71) were female and the average age of the respondents was 20 years. Structural equation modeling was used for data analysis. Results of the study support that the relationship between antecedents (emotional intelligence and moral obligation) and social entrepreneurial intentions were mediated by the attitude toward becoming a social entrepreneur, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control. Findings of this research study also suggest that students with high level of emotional intelligence are more inclined towards social entrepreneurial activities. The study was confined to the study of students from a technical university and it will be wrong to generalize findings to students from the non-technical stream. The finding of this research study will facilitate policy makers and educators for promoting social entrepreneurial activities at the university level. Based on these results educators may review support system that will prove helpful for students. This is one of its kinds of research conducted in the Indian context. Findings of this research will be helpful in predicting how the intention process of Indian students is affected by their emotional intelligence and moral obligation.