More Prosocial, More Ephemeral? Exploring the Formation of Social Entrepreneurs’ Exit Intention

Abstract

Why does social entrepreneurship tend to live shortly? A range of studies tried to answer this question, although very few delved into the “inner layer” (psychological status) to unveil the mechanism how social entrepreneurs decide to quit. Focusing on prosocial motivation of social entrepreneurs as well as its impacts on their work-related wellbeing and then their business exit intention, we conducted this empirical research. Based on data of 301 social entrepreneurs in China, we find that prosocial motivation decreased entrepreneurs' work-related wellbeing, which increased entrepreneurial exit intention. Furthermore, we find that the impact of prosocial motivation on work-related wellbeing largely is stronger for males. Our research contributes to the growing research and our knowledge on social entrepreneurship in terms of individual personality trait and how it impacts social entrepreneur’s psychological status and thus intention of exiting the social business.