From social capital to green entrepreneurial intentions: A mediation analysis based on the theory of planned behavior

This paper examines the role of informal entrepreneurial social capital in shaping students' entrepreneurial intention (EI) as a proxy for green EI, using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) as the main explanatory framework. The study focuses on entrepreneurial family background and entrepreneurial friends as socially embedded sources of entrepreneurial knowledge, role modelling and support. Empirical research was conducted among 445 students at the University of Niš, Serbia. Data were analysed through descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, independent-samples t-tests and mediation analysis using the PROCESS macro for SPSS. The results show that students with entrepreneurs in their family and peer environment report significantly higher EI. Mediation analysis further reveals that these relationships operate primarily through personal attitude and perceived behavioural control, while subjective norms do not represent a significant mediating pathway. The findings suggest that informal entrepreneurial environments influence students' intentions less through social approval and more by strengthening the perceived desirability and feasibility of entrepreneurship. The paper contributes to green entrepreneurship research by integrating social capital theory and the TPB in a transition economy context, emphasizing the importance of informal networks for developing sustainability-oriented entrepreneurial motivation.