Barriers to social entrepreneurship among business management university students in Spain: A Fuzzy-DEMATEL approach

[EN] This article explores barriers hindering the engagement of business management university students in social entrepreneurship (SE) in the Spanish context. The study, conducted at the Alcoy Campus of the Universitat Politècnica de València, employs a Fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) approach to analyse complex interrelationships among identified obstacles. Through surveys and interviews with students, professors and university management staff, the research revealed a number of key barriers, such as the lack of awareness and understanding of the opportunities of SE, the lack of institutional, informational and financial support from the public administration, large companies and organisations, the lack of a vision of change as necessary and possible or the lack of specific training, among others. It also quantified the strength and direction of relationships among these barriers. The findings underscore the need for targeted interventions, particularly by public administration, companies, organisations and educational institutions, to address these obstacles and foster a socially conscious entrepreneurial mindset among business management students.