Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate how individuals' prosocial motivation affects their social entrepreneurship intentions (SEI) through the mediating effect of creativity and the moderating effect of family-to-work support. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was conducted in the Pearl River Delta region in Guangdong, China, and data were collected from 318 respondents who had rich social work experience. To test the hypotheses, a hierarchical linear regression analysis was conducted using SPSS 24.0 software. Findings Results offer empirical support for the hypotheses that creativity in social work plays a full mediating role in the relationship between individuals' prosocial motivation and SEI, and family-to-work support plays a positive moderating role in the relationship between creativity in social work and SEI. Research limitations/implications This study shows the importance of prosocial motivation, creativity in social work and family support in driving individuals' social entrepreneurship intentions and behaviours. Future research needs to further examine how the dynamic relationships between these factors unfold over time, as well as consider the effect of other motivational factors on creativity and SEI. Practical implications This study suggests that the cultivation of individual prosocial motivation is crucial and requires the efforts of family, school and society. Relevant organisations should encourage individuals to incorporate creative thinking into their work, as well as offer training opportunities. In addition, social entrepreneurs should also strengthen communication with their families and strive to gain their understanding and support. Originality/value The findings of this study extend existing views on the relationship between individuals' motivation and entrepreneurship intentions in the social entrepreneurship research field by focusing on the perspective of prosocial motivation. In particular, this study reveals the complex process of how prosocial motivation promotes SEI by identifying the role of creativity and family-to-work support, which has rarely been explored in the extant literature.
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