Analysing e-entrepreneurial intention from the theory of planned behaviour: the role of social media use and perceived social support

E-entrepreneurial intention is a new perspective of entrepreneurship that leverages the creative use of internet technologies as a foundation for new business ventures. Using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) as a framework, this research examines the impact of each of its dimensions (attitude towards entrepreneurship, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control) on e-entrepreneurial intention in a single integrative model. Additionally, this study examines the role of social media use and perceived social support as moderators on the relationships between TPB components and e-entrepreneurial intention. The proposed model and hypotheses were tested using Partial Least Squares (PLS) structural equation modeling (SEM) with a sample of 510 entrepreneurs from five public universities in Iraq. Results indicate that attitude towards entrepreneurship, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control have a positive impact on e-entrepreneurial intention. Furthermore, the study found that social media use significantly strengthens the relationship between TPB components and e-entrepreneurial intention. Additionally, when perceived social support is higher, it positively moderates the relationship between attitude towards entrepreneurship and e-entrepreneurial intention, as well as between perceived behavioural control and e-entrepreneurial intention. The contributions of this work can be valuable to entrepreneurs who wish to explore or capitalize on opportunities in the digital economy.