Psychological drivers of social entrepreneurship: the mediating role of emotional intelligence in translating sustainability consciousness into intentions

Purpose Social entrepreneurship plays a vital role in addressing environmental and social challenges in developing economies. This study aims to examine how sustainability consciousness (SC) influences social entrepreneurship intention (SEI), by investigating emotional intelligence (EI) as a mediating psychological mechanism. Design/methodology/approach This study used a cross-sectional, quantitative design. Data were gathered via an online questionnaire shared through academic and professional networks, targeting university students and recent graduates. A total of 441 valid responses were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) via SmartPLS. Findings The findings show that emotional intelligence fully mediates the relationship between sustainability consciousness and social entrepreneurship intention, while no direct effect was found. Research limitations/implications This study is limited by its reliance on self-reported and cross-sectional data. Future studies could benefit from longitudinal designs and more diverse sampling to improve causal inference and generalizability. Practical implications The findings suggest that prioritizing emotional intelligence education may be key to enabling individuals to convert sustainability consciousness into meaningful social enterprise initiatives. Social implications Enhancing emotional intelligence as a complement to sustainability consciousness may help build more inclusive and empathetic entrepreneurial communities, particularly in contexts facing social inequality or environmental stress. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to empirically demonstrate the full mediating role of emotional intelligence between sustainability consciousness and social entrepreneurship intention. It extends the person-environment fit theory by integrating psychological and sustainability-oriented factors within an underexplored developing country context.