NAVIGATING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY: THE ROLE OF SOCIAL SUPPORT IN ENHANCING WELL-BEING AND PERFORMANCE

This study examines the influence of support from family, friends, and lecturers on the entrepreneurial well-being and performance of university students, with a focus on the moderating role of entrepreneurial resilience. A nomothetic quantitative methodology was employed, using a survey to collect responses from 261 university students in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Structural equation modeling validated the findings and assessed the relationships between social support, entrepreneurial well-being, resilience, and performance. The study confirms that family, friends, and lecturers have a significant impact on entrepreneurial well-being. It was also found that entrepreneurial well-being, in turn, has a significant impact on entrepreneurial performance. Additionally, entrepreneurial resilience moderates this relationship, strengthening the link between entrepreneurial well-being and performance. This study highlights the crucial role of social support in enhancing entrepreneurial well-being and performance among university students. Through highlighting the contributions of family, friends, and lecturers, these findings underscore the importance of cultivating strong support systems within the academic environment. The implications point to the need for universities to strengthen student support networks and promote resilience-building initiatives that maximise entrepreneurial outcomes. It is therefore recommended that higher education institutions integrate mentorship, peer collaboration, and psychological resilience training into their entrepreneurship. This study adds value by extending social support and entrepreneurial resilience theories into a student entrepreneurship context within a developing country, contributing novel insights to the literature on youth entrepreneurship.