Effect of social capital on agribusiness diversification intention in the emerging market

Purpose: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has seriously affected the global economy. How agribusinessmen are overcoming this crisis is being noticed in emerging markets. Using social capital to diversify agribusiness for getting more customers is a useful solution for the growth of agribusiness. However, there is a lack of evidence on the aggregate measurement scale of social capital and the influence of behavioral goals on the intention toward agribusiness diversification. Therefore, this study aims to develop an integrated measurement of social capital and investigate its effect on agribusiness diversification intention using the expanded theory of planned behavior (TPB). Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-methods approach is used, including four in-depth interviews, three focus group discussions and two surveys. Structural equation modeling is applied to a sample of 484 respondents to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings: The study shows the role of social capital in influencing the intention to diversify agribusiness under the premises of the resource-based view (RBV). The scale of social capital is also developed, which is the first integrated measurement of this asset. The findings contribute significantly to the existing knowledge of social capital, the TPB and diversifying agribusiness. Originality/value: This is the first study to explore the comprehensive effect of the facets of social capital on behavioral intention through behavioral goals and determinants of the TPB under the premises of the RBV. The findings will help emerging economies, for example, Vietnam, where most farmers are family business owners or microscaled entrepreneurs in agriculture.