THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL CAPITAL AND SOCIAL NETWORKS ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP- AN EXAMINATION OF EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLUBS BY THE STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODEL

Povzetek

Entrepreneurs require effective management of social capital, solidarity mechanisms with social networks, and resource diversity. Social capital covers all the various social dimensions that concern the entrepreneurial ecosystem, from investor relations to the marketing mix. Interacting with different social groups allows entrepreneurs to both develop innovative business ideas and obtain the necessary investment support. In this context, strengthening social capital is crucial for entrepreneurs. Social networks, which are elements of social capital, offer many opportunities for entrepreneurs, such as gaining financial benefits, benefiting from entrepreneurship training, receiving consultancy support, and establishing connections with investors. On the other hand, entrepreneurship clubs, which are among the social networks of entrepreneurs, do not only facilitate entrepreneurs in accessing financial resources. In addition to financial opportunities, these clubs also offer entrepreneurs training, consultancy, etc. opportunities where they can constantly renew themselves in business management and strategy development processes.

In this context, the correct management of financial expenditures that strengthen social capital and are most closely related to the activity management of entrepreneurship clubs from social networks is of critical importance. It is essential for economic development that expenditure items are at a minimum level and that the budget is used to support both members and non-member potential entrepreneurs in the most efficient way with both education and different activities. In the study, it was aimed to draw attention to the financial management of entrepreneurship clubs and to guide future studies with this study. The expenditures made by entrepreneurship clubs on education are important because when the share of the factors that have the largest share in these expenses is reduced, these entrepreneurship trainings can be opened to more members and perhaps even non-members, and offered at a more affordable price or free of charge, allowing more people to benefit. This will result in the development of the entrepreneurship ecosystem and the implementation of important initiatives that have not yet come to light. The findings obtained from the study aim to achieve these and similar outputs that support the entrepreneurship ecosystem and entrepreneurs.

In the conceptual framework planned in this study, it is predicted that there is a positive relationship between entrepeneurship education expenditures and two independent variables income of entrepreneurship clubs and size of entrepreneurship clubs. Besides that there is also positive relationship between income of entrepreneurship clubs and financial income and subscription income factors. Similarly, there ise a positive relationship between size of entrepreneurship clubs and number of members and number of offices both.  Based on all these assumptions, the research question of this study is determined as "How do income of entrepreneurship clubs and size of entrepreneurship clubs affect entrepeneurship education expenditures?" All of the hypotheses established in the study were accepted except one (the number of member affects the the size of entrepreneurship clubs).