Anatomy of entrepreneurship: Using key competencies to drive social capital acquisition and develop social entrepreneurship practices in MBA education

Abstract

This research produces a content analysis of a U.S. social entrepreneurship (SE)–focused graduate management program which examines the intersection of SE key competencies and SE practices that produce avenues of accessibility for SE MBA students. This paper puts previously proposed SE key competencies in dialogue with theories of practice, identifying how curricular and practicum practices are performed through an examination of public-facing program documentation, which includes websites, social media, and curricula. Results show that social capitals are manifest in SE practices that work both internally and externally to define the SE field and foster meaningful SE education. Four patterns of practice are crucial to creating accessibility and engaging multiple stakeholders: institutional practices which instill an active and outward-facing institutional presence, practices of a student-centered organization that bridge and link entrepreneurs, valuation practices incorporating sustainability, and persistent external engagements. These findings provide a roadmap to guide management programs in creating knowledgeable and effective social entrepreneurs, and suggest that this multi-pronged approach to creating SE pathways of practice addresses the complex and pluralistic problems that lie at the core of social innovation projects.