The 2019 Social Enterprise Promotion Act in Thailand represents a pivotal step towards promoting social enterprises by fostering self-reliance and a fair and sustainable future for the country. Despite their significance, there is a noticeable research gap focusing on the factors that motivate Thai entrepreneurs to venture into social entrepreneurship. This study seeks to fill that gap by analyzing data from 2000 respondents in Thailand, utilizing linear regression to explore whether the awareness of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the adoption of digital technologies, extrinsic motivations, such as the overall societal view of entrepreneurs, social awareness, and perceptions of entrepreneurial capabilities influence the decision to start a social enterprise. In a gender comparison, our findings reveal that the societal context plays a crucial role for both genders, although in distinct ways: Male entrepreneurs are more influenced by individualistic extrinsic values, with motivations linked to power, respect, and societal recognition. In contrast, female entrepreneurs display a collectivistic orientation, being more likely to be inspired by intrinsic motivations, such as the success and visibility of other successful startups within their society. These findings underline the need for a gender-sensitive approach by government bodies, educational institutions, and other relevant organizations aiming to boost start-up rates of enterprises who “make a difference in the world”. Tailored support and educational programs to address the unique motivations and perspectives of male and female entrepreneurs could play a crucial role in enhancing the effectiveness of strategies designed to promote social entrepreneurship in Thailand and beyond.

This paper models 54,559 Chinese news items about education industry and scientific industry by machine learning during the COVID-19 epidemic to build China’s increased scientific research policy (ISRP) index. The result of interrupted time series analysis indicates that, the ISRP has an emphatic positive causality on the education industry advancement and promotes the development of the education industry. The ISRP also has a remarkable positive causality on the development of the scientific industry. Moreover, the result of causal network indicates that, a virtuous circle within the ISRP, the education industry and the scientific industry has been formed, which has promoted the sustainable development of the education chain.