Can Social Capital and Psychological Capital Improve the Entrepreneurial Performance of the New Generation of Migrant Workers in China?

Hongyu Ma, Federico Topolansky Barbe and Yongmei Carol Zhang
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Hongyu Ma: College of Economics and Management, Northwest A & F University, No. 3 Taicheng Road, XianYang 712100, China
Federico Topolansky Barbe: School of Business and Entrepreneurship, Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester, GL7 6JS, UK
Yongmei Carol Zhang: School of Business and Entrepreneurship, Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester, GL7 6JS, UK

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: The new generation of migrant workers may play a crucial role in boosting China’s rural economy. With the rise of knowledge economy and the advent of the information age, it is difficult for human capital and economic capital alone to gain advantages in entrepreneurship. Thus, the study of social capital and psychological capital becomes more prominent. Within this context, this paper explores the relationships among entrepreneurs’ psychological capital, social capital, and entrepreneurial outcomes for the new generation of migrant workers in the Shaanxi province. This study uses a quantitative research approach. Primary data were collected from 525 rural households in the Shaanxi province. A structural equation model is used to verify the association between social capital, psychological capital, and entrepreneurial performance. The psychological capital of the new generation of migrant workers is found to exert a more significant impact on their entrepreneurial opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial environment perception than social capital. Both entrepreneurial opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial environment perception of the new generation of migrant workers are conducive to the improvement of entrepreneurial performance. Nevertheless, the intermediary role of entrepreneurial opportunity recognition is more prominent than entrepreneurial environment perception.

Keywords: social capital; psychological capital; entrepreneurial outcomes; new generation of migrant workers; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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