Graduates’ Entrepreneurial Intention in a Developing Country: The Influence of Social Media and E-commerce Adoption (SMEA) and its Antecedents

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is the key to addressing employment issues among young people and maintaining the sustainable development of a local economy in Africa. As the digital wave has swept across the continent, new technologies, such as social media and e-commerce, have provided essential opportunities for young people to start a business. However, little attention has been paid to the association between social media and e-commerce adoption (SMEA) and youth entrepreneurship in Africa. This study proposes a theoretical model focusing on the effects of SMEA, as well as its antecedents, on entrepreneurship by investigating a sample of 232 graduates in Ghana. Empirical results show that SMEA has a significant association with entrepreneurial intention. In terms of SMEA antecedents, it is interesting to note that internal factors (i.e. social influence, hedonic motivations, and habit) have a more positive effect on SMEA rather than external factors (i.e. performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and facilitating conditions). Furthermore, the results demonstrate that perceived risk is inversely related to SMEA. The mechanism analysis also reveals that SMEA can act as a bridge between worthy antecedents and entrepreneurial intention. The above findings imply that the adoption of social media and e-commerce allows young people in Ghana to take the initiative to start a business, but the perceived risk associated with entrepreneurship should be regulated.