Unboxing the intention: the impact of perceived CSR activities on social entrepreneurship through pro-social motivation and entrepreneurial culture

Purpose Scholarly attention to employees’ socially responsible behavior in the workplace is on the rise. While studies are uncovering predictors of socially responsible actions at work, the psychological mechanisms linking various factors to employee social entrepreneurship and the conditions that influence them remain unclear. To address these lacunae, this research aims to examine the transformative impact of perceived corporate social responsibility on shaping employees’ intention toward starting their own business; the mediating role of pro-social motivation between perceived corporate social responsibility and social entrepreneurial intention; and the moderating role of entrepreneurial culture between pro-social motivation and employees’ intention toward starting their businesses. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the perspective of social cognitive theory and stakeholder theory, the authors developed and tested a model using partial least squares-structural equation modeling. Findings Data from 354 corporate employees working in the information technology(IT) industries of India revealed that employees’ corporate social responsibility perceptions, directly and indirectly, affect their intention toward social entrepreneurship through pro-social motivation, and these effects are vital for employees to get a high entrepreneurial culture in an organization. Originality/value In sum, the authors offer novel contributions to the literature by introducing previously unrelated cognitive, motivational, and cultural attributes in social entrepreneurship. Implications, limitations, and future research avenues are discussed in detail.