Entrepreneurship and economic diversity have become increasingly popular topics, as entrepreneurs play a crucial role in new venture creation. Investigation of the personal and social factors with an influence on the attitude and behavioural intentions of entrepreneurs to start businesses could provide an understanding of the basic motivational factors of new venture creation. The purpose of this empirical study was to examine the relationship between entrepreneurs’ social capital, personal passion, and entrepreneurial behavioural intentions with the mediating factor of attitude and the moderating factor of the recognition of business opportunities in the State of Kuwait.

A deductive approach of logic was the means used to collect data from 932 potential entrepreneurs. Empirical testing of the model commenced with a structural equation modelling technique with SmartPLS software. The results addressed inconclusive
results and provided an understanding of the relationship between the personal and social factors influencing attitude and entrepreneurial intention. The results indicated that the factors of personal passion and relational social capital had a significant effect on attitude toward entrepreneurship. Additionally, attitude had a significant effect on entrepreneurial behavioural intention.

The results did not align with the hypothesis that opportunity recognition is a means of controlling the relation between attitude toward entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial behavioural intention. Policymakers, national funding authorities, researchers, and educators could use this study’s results to understand Kuwaiti potential entrepreneurs and improve the entrepreneurial process in Kuwait.