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Grounded in theory of planned behavior, this study explores how national social capital, as an important but untested element of institutional environment, influences the effect of perceived entrepreneurial ability on entrepreneurial intentions.

Using data of more than 95,000 individuals in 33 countries from Adult Population Survey (APS) conducted by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), combined with data collected by World Values Survey (WVS), this study employs hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to assess the moderation effect of national social capital on the relationship between perceived entrepreneurial ability of individuals nested within different countries and entrepreneurial intentions.

The results reveal that national social capital enhances the positive impact of perceived entrepreneurial ability on the intent of individuals to start a new business. Notably, this study finds all three components of national social capital – generalized trust, breadth of formal organizational memberships and civic engagement– strengthen the influence of perceived entrepreneurial ability on entrepreneurial intentions.

As the main contribution, this research illustrates the combined effects of social environment (i.e. national social capital) and individuals' evaluations regarding their ability to start a business (i.e. perceived entrepreneurial ability) on entrepreneurial intentions. This study highlights that national social capital complements perceived entrepreneurial ability by helping identify favorable start-up conditions and increasing the tendency of people to act on those conditions.