A Future Blueprint: Comprehensive Exploration of Theories and Scales for Social Entrepreneurial Intention Among Students in Emerging Economies

Abstract

Background: Social entrepreneurship is a crucial, innovative solution for addressing major societal challenges, such as poverty, unemployment, and other priorities within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially in developing countries. Assessing social entrepreneurial intentions among students is a vital indicator of future sustainable development in these regions.
Purpose: This scoping review aims to systematically synthesize and identify the most dominant theoretical frameworks and measurement scales utilized in research assessing students’ social entrepreneurial intentions in emerging economies. 
Design/methodology/approach: The review was conducted according to the PRISMA-ScR protocol. Articles were systematically collected from major academic databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, and ScienceDirect. After the screening process, an empirical article was selected and analyzed to chart the theoretical models and instruments applied.
Findings/Results: This review provides a comprehensive synthesis identifying two widely adopted theoretical frameworks: the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the social entrepreneurial intention formation theory (SEIFT). The dominance of the TPB underscores its role in explaining intentions by utilizing psychological theory. In terms of measurement instruments, the most frequently employed scales were those originally developed by Hockerts and Linan and Chen. The sustained use of these two instruments highlights the reliance on validated tools designed specifically for the context of social entrepreneurship.
Conclusion: This study offers a necessary methodological and theoretical roadmap for future research. The clear identification of TPB, SEIFT, and the validated scales provides a credible foundation for advancing rigorous research on student social entrepreneurial intention in emerging economies. 
Originality/value (State of the art): To the best of the authors knowledge, this is the first scoping review to exclusively map and synthesize the theories and scales used to measure student social entrepreneurial intention, specifically within the context of emerging economies.

Keywords: social entrepreneurial intention, students, sustainable development goals, developing countries, scoping review