Introduction: In recent decades, new approaches in the field of cultural economics and human resource management have turned cultural entrepreneurship into one of the fundamental strategies for social development and identity formation in contemporary societies. Cultural entrepreneurship is a process that, through creativity, meaning creation, and the redefinition of cultural symbols, leads to the creation of economic and social values. In addition to generating value, this process functions as an engine for cultural continuity and adaptive transformation, allowing societies to reinterpret their cultural heritage in ways that align with current technological, economic, and communicative realities. As global cultural industries expand, the strategic importance of cultural entrepreneurship has increased, highlighting the need for organizations—especially cultural and artistic startups—to cultivate internal capacities that support sustained innovation. Organizational commitment, as one of the fundamental constructs of organizational behavior, plays a decisive role in strengthening motivation, creativity, and the sustainability of cultural entrepreneurship. Research has shown that increasing organizational commitment, especially of the affective type, is associated with the growth of job satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, and cultural innovation. Social capital acts as a complementary and reinforcing construct in this relationship. The presence of shared norms, trust, and strong interpersonal relationships within an organization can dramatically enhance the willingness of employees to contribute their cultural knowledge, creative insights, and innovative practices to collective projects. These interactions also support the formation of a shared cultural identity, which is a crucial precondition for effective cultural entrepreneurship. The combination of organizational commitment and social capital, in fact, creates a pattern of psychological and social synergy that leads to the enhancement of cultural entrepreneurship. Committed employees, with belief in the organization’s cultural mission, in an atmosphere full of trust and constructive communication, are able to develop new ideas, fresh cultural narratives, and creative actions that strengthen innovation, risk taking, and a proactive cultural orientation. This synergy also promotes a climate where individuals feel empowered to experiment with new cultural forms, collaborate across disciplines, and take calculated risks in the creation of artistic content, digital products, and culturally relevant services. As a result, the organization as a whole gains greater adaptive capacity and a higher degree of resilience in the face of environmental changes. Considering the research gap regarding the explanation of the effect of organizational commitment on the components of cultural entrepreneurship with a social capital approach, the present study has sought to examine the mechanisms of this relationship and to show how social capital can, in the context of cultural organizations, strengthen the effect of organizational commitment on innovation and the sustainability of cultural entrepreneurship. This study contributes to the existing literature by integrating perspectives from organizational behavior, cultural economics, and entrepreneurship, and by focusing on cultural-artistic startups as a unique and rapidly growing domain that has received relatively limited empirical attention.
Methodology: The present study is applied in terms of its objective and falls under descriptive-correlational research regarding the method of data collection. The statistical population of this study includes cultural-artistic startups in Iran, which encompass artistic startups, digital content production companies, and cultural video game production companies, with a total estimated number of 356 individuals. In this research, simple random sampling is employed, and the sample size is calculated to be 185 individuals using Cochran’s formula. The main measurement tool for this study is a questionnaire, utilizing a Likert scale for measurement. Additionally, Pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis are used to determine the type of relationship between the two variables. The statistical analysis method employed in this research is Smart PLS. This methodological approach enables the identification of latent relationships, reliability of constructs, and structural pathways that clarify how organizational commitment interacts with social capital to affect cultural entrepreneurship.
Results and Discussion: The results obtained from structural equations indicate that organizational commitment has a significant impact on cultural entrepreneurship. Therefore, there is a positive and meaningful relationship between organizational commitment and cultural entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the results show that: There is a positive and significant relationship between organizational commitment and innovation. There are also positive and significant relationships between organizational commitment and both aggressive approaches and risk-taking. In addition, the statistical analysis results indicate that social capital, as a moderating variable, has been able to moderate the relationship between organizational commitment and cultural entrepreneurship. This result implies that in conditions where social capital is at a high level, the relationship between organizational commitment and cultural entrepreneurship will be stronger and more positive. These findings underscore the importance of interpersonal networks, shared cultural values, and collaborative environments in driving entrepreneurial momentum within cultural industries.
Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that organizational commitment exerts a significant and positive impact on cultural entrepreneurship, particularly when reinforced by high levels of social capital. The findings confirm that affective organizational commitment is positively associated with innovation, proactive approaches, and risk taking behaviors, all of which are critical for sustaining cultural entrepreneurship in cultural–artistic startups. Moreover, social capital serves as a powerful moderating factor, amplifying the relationship between organizational commitment and cultural entrepreneurship under conditions of strong interpersonal trust and collaborative networks. These results offer clear implications for managers and policymakers: fostering an organizational culture that builds trust, strengthens collective identity, and aligns employees with the organization’s cultural mission can substantially enhance entrepreneurial performance in the cultural sector. Future research should extend this work by examining longitudinal effects, exploring commercialization processes, and assessing the interplay of additional sociopsychological variables such as resilience within the organizational commitment–cultural entrepreneurship nexus. Additionally, investigating cross-cultural differences and digital transformation trends may provide deeper insights into how cultural entrepreneurship evolves in emerging creative economies.