Theory Development for Social Entrepreneurship Engagement

Abstract

Social Entrepreneurship (SE) is an entrepreneurial activity demonstrating the ability to address complex social problems (Austin et al., 2006). However, despite growing global interest in Social Entrepreneurship, SE theory is still in the process of conceptualization, and there is presently no acknowledged theory that can confine the phenomenon (Sekliuckiene & Kisielius, 2015; Pless, 2012). Therefore, this study aims to develop a rudimentary theory for Social Entrepreneurship engagement. This study is based on the analysis of scientific papers, allowing the researcher to evaluate and explain the phenomena of social entrepreneurship involvement and its antecedents. Rudimentary Theory was developed based on the literature-conceptual mapping, proposition, and category analysis findings and outcomes. The framework outlines the antecedents of social entrepreneurship engagement that explain why an individual would engage in the process of building a socially driven enterprise. The highlight of this study is that Motivations and Social Entrepreneurial Behavior are essential antecedents of Social Enterprise engagement (Mair & Noboa, 2006; Prieto et al., 2012), and Hofstede's (2001) global cultural dimensions moderates the engagement of Social Enterprise (Kedmenec & Strasek, 2017; Hechavarria & Ingram, 2016; Mueller & Thomas,2001).