Social Media and Entrepreneurial Thinking: The Mediating Role of Motivation among University Students

This study examines how social media relates to entrepreneurial thinking among university students and clarifies the role of motivation using established psychological frameworks. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory and Social Cognitive Theory, the research models motivation as a pathway through which social media engagement is associated with the dimensions of entrepreneurial thinking. A cross-sectional survey of 321 students at a public Algerian university was analysed with partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to test direct, mediating, and sequential pathways among social media use, motivation, five entrepreneurial thinking dimensions (opportunity identification/exploitation, innovation/creativity, resource mobilisation/management, adaptability/learning, growth mindset/self-efficacy), and an overall social media–related entrepreneurial thinking construct. The results indicate that social media use shows modest direct associations with overall entrepreneurial thinking, while motivation exhibits a stronger association and functions as the primary mediator. Among the thinking dimensions, opportunity identification/exploitation and adaptability/learning, but not innovation/creativity, resource mobilisation/management, or growth mindset/self-efficacy, transmit the association between social media and overall entrepreneurial thinking; sequential pathways (social media → motivation → opportunity/adaptability → overall thinking) are supported. These results suggest that educational interventions may be more effective when they first nurture students’ autonomy, competence, and relatedness and then channel engagement toward opportunity scanning and adaptive learning. Limitations include the single-university context, reliance on self-reported measures, and the cross-sectional design, which constrain generalisability and causal inference; future research should employ longitudinal, multi-context, and platform-differentiated approaches.