Analyzing the Role of Islamic Work Ethic on Social Entrepreneurial Intention with the Mediating Role of Positivity

Document Type : Research

Authors

Moslem Soleymanpor ¹

Mahdieh Sarhaddi ²

Reza Norouzi Ajirloo ¹

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Business Management, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

² Faculty Member, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education Science & Psychology, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/social.2024.89007.1535

Abstract

Social entrepreneurship is a growing field of research that has recently garnered significant scholarly attention. A positive mindset enables social entrepreneurs to maintain a long-term, goal-oriented focus on addressing social issues, which must be accompanied by adherence to an ethical path to foster community development. This study investigates the impact of the Islamic work ethic and positivity on individuals' social entrepreneurial intention. This is an applied study with a descriptive-correlational design, and data collection is conducted using a questionnaire and a field survey. The statistical population comprised managers and experts in the field of social entrepreneurship across ten municipal districts of Tabriz city from 2023 to 2024. The questionnaire items were adapted from the general framework of Islamic Work Ethic by Ali and Al-Kazemi, Social Entrepreneurship by Dehghani et al., and Positivity by Ingram and Wiseman. The face validity of the questionnaire was assessed by five experts in the field of social entrepreneurship. Questionnaires were distributed electronically. Out of a total of 120 distributed questionnaires, 100 were fully completed and analyzed. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS23 software and the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach (SMART-PLS) and the results were used to test the model and hypotheses. The findings suggest a direct and significant relationship between the components of Islamic work ethic and social entrepreneurial intention at a significance level of 0.001 (B=0.402). Furthermore, the positive effect of positivity, as a mediating variable, on social entrepreneurial intention was significant (B=0.527). The Islamic work ethic proved to be a powerful means of enhancing positivity (B=0.781). This study underlines the importance of implementing an Islamic work ethic and a positive approach to ensure innovation, operational interaction, sustainability, risk management, and proactive measures.

Keywords

Islamic Work Ethic

Social Entrepreneurship

Positivity

Entrepreneurial Intention

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