“If you sow goodness, you will reap goodness”: activating social entrepreneurial intentions with karmic beliefs

Purpose Although karmic beliefs have been found to be positively correlated with pro-social behaviors, the role of karmic beliefs in social entrepreneurship remains relatively unknown. Drawing on the morally extended theory of planned behavior, this paper aims to explore the karmic aspect of social venturing, wherein individuals’ social entrepreneurial intentions and their moral antecedents are activated by karmic beliefs. Design/methodology/approach The study was performed on a sample of 401 university students in Vietnam. Cronbach’s alpha, confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical regression analyses were then used to test the reliability, validity of scales and developed hypotheses. Findings The findings illustrate that karmic beliefs are strongly and positively correlated with empathy, moral obligation, social entrepreneurial self-efficacy and perceived social support. Moreover, individuals’ social entrepreneurial intentions are not only significantly and directly stimulated by karmic beliefs but also receive the indirect effects of karmic beliefs through three mediators: empathy, moral obligation and social entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Originality/value The study added fresh perspectives on the role of karmic beliefs in social entrepreneurship literature. Additionally, this study shed a new light on entrepreneurial literature by morally extending theory of planned behavior to explore underlying mechanisms of moral and empathetic components on transferring the effects of karmic beliefs on social entrepreneurial intentions.