A comparison of the structural relationship model of social entrepreneurial intention and behavior between Thai and Indian university students

Social entrepreneurship has been increasingly promoted within higher education as a mechanism for addressing persistent social and economic challenges. However, the valid pathway through which students’ social entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions are translated into observed behavior remains insufficiently established, particularly when assessed across national contexts characterized by differing social entrepreneurship environments. The purpose of this study was to develop and comparatively validate a relationship model of social entrepreneurial intention and behavior among Thai and Indian university students. Data were collected from undergraduate samples of 315 in Thailand and 311 samples in India over the period from August 2024 to February 2025. Data analysis was structured around group-based comparisons, with configural invariance assessed first, metric invariance subsequently evaluated, and structural paths compared to test equivalence across groups. Structural equation modeling with multi-group analysis was conducted, and marginally acceptable model fit was indicated by the reported indices χ 2 = 437.37, df = 164, p -value = 0.000, χ 2 /df = 2.667, RMSEA = 0.073, and CFI = 0.98). Within the constraints of model specification, the findings indicate that social entrepreneurial intention was strongly associated with both behavior and social entrepreneurial capital in both groups. The structural relationships were largely comparable across Thai and Indian samples, with some differences in path strengths. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the intention behavior relationship in social entrepreneurship within non-Western contexts.