The Influence Mechanism of Online Social Network Relationships on Sustainable Entrepreneurial Success

Xianhuan Chen, Yiming Ma () and Yuguang Xie
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Xianhuan Chen: School of Management, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
Yiming Ma: School of Management Science and Engineering, Anhui University of Finance and Economics, Bengbu 233030, China
Yuguang Xie: School of Management, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 9, 1-18

Abstract: Affected by economic uncertainty, the success rate of sustainable entrepreneurship is not optimistic at present. Effectively improving the success rate of sustainable entrepreneurship is of great significance for ensuring and maintaining sustainable development for long-term socioeconomic and environmental sustainability. Based on social network theory, entrepreneurial capital theory, psychological capital theory, and the literature on sustainable entrepreneurship, this study explores the influence mechanism of online social network relationships on sustainable entrepreneurial success from the perspective of those relationships, dividing entrepreneurs’ abilities into an online relationship-building ability and online relationship coordination ability. We used an empirical study with 346 valid questionnaires. The results of a PLS-SEM analysis show that online social network relationships have a significant impact on sustainable entrepreneurial capital, in which online relationship-building capacity has a similar impact on both sustainable entrepreneurial resource integration and acquisition; online relationship-building capacity can positively affect both transactional and interpersonal psychological capital; sustainable entrepreneurial resource integration can be more effective than resource acquisition in promoting sustainable entrepreneurial success through the use of social media; and transactional psychological capital has a more significant impact on sustainable entrepreneurial success than does interpersonal psychological capital. This study provides new insights into how entrepreneurs can fully utilize their online social network relationships to achieve entrepreneurial success.

Keywords: online social network relationships; online relationship-building ability; online relationship coordination ability; sustainable entrepreneurial capital; psychological capital; sustainable entrepreneurial success (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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