Examining the Nexus between Social Capital, Value Co-creation and Entrepreneurship in Nigeria: Assessing the Moderating Role of Social Media in a Resource-constrained Context

Abstract

This research provides a transformative perspective on how Social Capital (SC), Value Co creation (VCC), and Social Media (SM) interact to shape Entrepreneurial Outcomes (EOs) in institutionally weak, resource-constrained contexts. Positioned within a positivist ontology and grounded in Social Capital Theory, the research reconceptualises SC not as a passive stock of relationships but as a dynamic entrepreneurial capability, strategically mobilised to access resources, legitimacy, and opportunities. Focusing on Nigeria’s fashion industry, a sector characterised by informality, weak institutions, and heavy network reliance, the study adopts a quantitative, deductive design. Data from a cross-sectional survey of 580 entrepreneurs aged 18–55, in Lagos and Abuja were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to test the
pathways linking SC, VCC, and SM, to EOs measured through sales growth and brand awareness. The findings reveal that SC exerts a significant direct effect on EOs, confirming that the purposeful activation of trust, norms, and diverse networks drives superior performance. SC also significantly predicts VCC, demonstrating that cohesive networks promote co-design, co-promotion, co-distribution, and co-funding. Furthermore, VCC partially mediates the SC–EO
relationship, evidencing pathway pluralism: entrepreneurial success arises both directly from network activation and indirectly through co-creative value co-creation. Notably, the moderating role of SM also reveals an important contextual nuance: it was initially negative and insignificant in the uncontrolled model but became positive and significant when demographic and contextual controls were introduced, suggesting that SM enhances the VCC-EO relationship under specific contextual conditions. Rather than serving as a universal enhancer, social media functions as a conditional amplifier, strengthening co
creative outcomes only where adequate digital competence and engagement capacity are present. Theoretically this study reframes SC as an active, performative capability, and positions VCC as a central process mechanism through which social capital is converted into measurable entrepreneurial outcomes. It further advances digital entrepreneurship scholarship by identifying SM as a context-dependent rather than a universal enhancer. Contextually, it extends entrepreneurship and digital innovation scholarship to the under-researched Nigerian context, providing evidence for pluralistic, overlapping pathways that connect social, collaborative, and digital capabilities. Practically, it underscores the need for entrepreneurs to integrate network activation, stakeholder co-creation, and digital engagement strategically, while policymakers and incubators should foster digital literacy and trust-based
ecosystems. Given the cross-sectional and context-specific nature of this study, future research can build on this work by employing longitudinal or comparative designs to examine how these pluralistic pathways evolve across time and contexts.

Date of Award	2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Plymouth
Supervisor	Christopher Agyapong Siaw (Director of Studies (First Supervisor)), Lise Hunter (Other Supervisor) & Chiwuokem Nwoko (Other Supervisor)