Social entrepreneurship orientation, social self-efficacy and social exclusion: a mediation model with regular migrants in Türkiye

Purpose This study aims to examine whether individual social entrepreneurship orientation (ISEO) is associated with lower perceived social exclusion (SE) among regular-status Syrian migrants in Türkiye and whether perceived social self-efficacy (PSSE) mediates this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through an interviewer-administered face-to-face survey from 353 regular-status Syrian adult migrants who actively supported service delivery in an inclusion-oriented social entrepreneurship project in Türkiye. Findings ISEO was positively associated with PSSE (b = 0.616), whereas PSSE was negatively associated with SE (b = −0.167). ISEO showed a significant negative total association with perceived SE (b = −0.337) and remained significantly associated with perceived SE after accounting for PSSE (b = −0.234). The indirect association through PSSE was significant [b = −0.101, 95% CI (−0.199, −0.010)], indicating a pattern consistent with partial mediation (approximately 30% of the total association). Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional design constrains causal inference. Future studies should use longitudinal designs and incorporate objective indicators of exclusion. Practical implications Inclusion-oriented initiatives may be associated with lower SE by pairing opportunity-creating activities with interventions that strengthen migrants’ PSSE (e.g. mentoring, structured interaction and skills-building). Social implications This study implies that inclusion policies should complement structural measures such as employment with relational interventions that broaden social ties and trust. Such approaches may be associated with lower isolation and support more cohesive and resilient host communities. Originality/value The study specifies PSSE as a psychosocial pathway linking ISEO with SE in a migrant sample in Türkiye.