Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Research Articles

Catalysts for Change: Examining Prosocial Motivation's Role in Fostering Social Entrepreneurial Intentions Among Women in Matrilineal Cultures

Social entrepreneurship is important to attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) worldwide. Currently, women have been heavily involved in social entrepreneurship activities. However, until now, a study involving women of Minang ethnicity (matrilinear lineage) on the student's interest in social entrepreneurship still needs to be completed. The objective of this paper is to look into the impact of prosocial and intrinsic motivation antecedents on women’s social entrepreneurial intention. The inquiry model was tested in this study using a quantitative technique. This study involved 250 Minang students (female)who met the criteria that they had taken lectures for at least two semesters in Padang City. The moderating variables were investigated using the Moderated Regression Analysis (MRA) approach effect of intrinsic motivation (STATA). An interesting finding from this study is that prosocial motivation shows a positive and significant effect on social entrepreneurial intention. The urge to engage in social action triggers them to become social entrepreneurs. Although the results of the moderating effect are not proven, the implications of this investigation are very helpful for the government and higher education to develop a social entrepreneurship ecosystem and social entrepreneurship education. The originality of this paper lies in the fact that previous studies haven’t focused on the role of culture in shaping the social entrepreneurial intention of Minang students.

SOCIODYNAMICS OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN UZBEKISTAN AND INTRODUCING THE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT INDEX (SED Index) IN COMMUNITIES

Based on sociological researches conducted by the author this article provides a comprehensive analysis of the current state of social entrepreneurship in Uzbekistan, a relatively new and evolving phenomenon within the country. Through a thorough examination of the existing landscape, the author evaluates the level of development, challenges, and opportunities for social entrepreneurship in Uzbekistan. By proposing an algorithmic framework for its future growth and development, the article offers valuable insights and recommendations to foster a flourishing social entrepreneurship ecosystem in Uzbekistan. analyzes some methodologies to quantify the level of social entrepreneurship development within regions, followed by the proposal of a potential Social Entrepreneurship Development Index (SED Index) as an exemplary measurement tool. KEYWORDS: social entrepreneurship, sociodynamics of social entrepreneurship in Uzbekistan, resources for the development of social entrepreneurship, algorithm of developing social entrepreneurship in Uzbekistan, measuring the level of social entrepreneurship development within regions, Social Entrepreneurship Development Index (SED Index)

COMPETENCES NECESSARY FOR A SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR: A CASE STUDY OF LATVIA

Social entrepreneurship as a specific kind of business has been developing in Latvia since 2018, and it is a little researched field. Achieving the goals of social entrepreneurship is facilitated by several factors, including the competences of the social entrepreneur him/herself. The present research aims to identify the general basic knowledge, skills and competences necessary for a social entrepreneur in Latvia. The authors made a review of theoretical literature on the role of managerial competencies in social enterprises and analysed the results of surveys of social entrepreneurs and their institutional partners – university teaching personnel – conducted in Latvia. The research found that there were areas of general knowledge, skills and competences of social entrepreneurs that were rated as equally important by both groups surveyed, yet the social entrepreneurs gave more importance to competences related to business goals and opportunities. The present research makes a scientific contribution in two aspects: 1) the identified general competencies required for a social entrepreneur could serve as a basis for further research to measure the actual competencies of social entrepreneurs; 2) the research contributes to an institutional framework for the social entrepreneurship ecosystem by developing recommendations for cooperation partners – those involved in adult lifelong learning, incl. universities, for the development of competencies in social entrepreneurs.

The role of higher education institutions in preparing individuals for social entrepreneurship

Introduction. Social entrepreneurship is based on work with resources, including competence, and professional and personal qualities of the individual. the system of education is able to ensure their development. Aim. To analyze the relevant scientific literature and, on its basis, to determine the role of higher education institutions in preparing individuals for social entrepreneurship. Methods. Theoretical analysis, systematization and generalization of scientific literature on the problem of interest. Results. Higher education institutions play a significant role in the social entrepreneurship ecosystem. The organization of social entrepreneurship education includes educational support, level of training, field of knowledge, content of training, tools of informal education, and work of private organizations. The author describes the personal competencies, professional and personal qualities and values that should be developed after taking the "Social entrepreneurship" course. Conclusions. The study demonstrated an important role of education in preparing individuals for social entrepreneurship and building the social entrepreneurship ecosystem. A prominent place in the educational support for the development of social entrepreneurship is occupied by the strategic planning of the university's activities with regard to social needs and the implementation of the university's "third mission". The social entrepreneurship programs should be based on both formal and informal education with the focus on developing needed personal and professional competencies.

BETWEEN MISSION AND MONEY: A LESSON LEARNED FROM SOCIAL ENTERPRISE IDENTITY

Social Entrepreneurship is a popular business model that proposes entrepreneurship to solve social and environmental problems by selling products or services. In Indonesia, the development of the number and awareness of entrepreneurs supported by the Social Entrepreneurship ecosystem is growing. However, due to the need for a unified definition of 'Social Entrepreneurship' and the slow pace of formal recognition from the government, organizations have developed with mixed practices and results. This study aims to describe the practice of Social Enterprise through the disclosure of corporate identity. Using Identity and Stakeholder Theory, this study explores the five characteristics of identity: mission, activity, governance, performance, and accountability. This multiple case study uses 10 Indonesian Social Enterprises. Data was collected through interviews and speeches in webinars coupled with documentation studies of uploaded narratives, photos, and videos on the company's official website, carried out from March to June 2023. Data analysis uses Nvivo to find themes from various Social Enterprise identity criteria groups. The results show that Social Enterprise has a unique mission and activities that carry a social value where community, empowerment, welfare and sustainability are more emphasized than profit. Institutional commitment as a Social Enterprise is proven by disclosing the impact achieved through impact reports, impact achievement profiles, SDG achievements, or articles in the news column. However, Financial performance is rarely disclosed, even though several companies have disclosed the distribution of their profits. Accountability practice in formal and informal to its stakeholder. This study provides guidelines for how companies disclose and be accountable for their identity as a Social Enterprise.

The role of universities in Latin American social entrepreneurship ecosystems: a gender perspective

PurposeThis study examines the role of universities in the social entrepreneurship ecosystems (SEEs) in Latin America from the perspective of female academic staff, administrators and outreach workers of universities in the region.Design/methodology/approachUsing a qualitative approach, the study scrutinises in-depth interviews conducted with 24 women from eight Latin American universities.FindingsThe findings underscore the pivotal role of universities in promoting social entrepreneurship through knowledge generation, entrepreneur training, network enhancement and the promotion of equity. They also highlight the importance of incorporating a gender perspective into university programmes and practices.Research limitations/implicationsThe qualitative nature and small, diverse sample of this research inherently limit its scope. However, these limitations arise from the exploratory approach adopted, which was confined to eight Latin American countries. Further comparative studies in different contexts are needed to deepen the understanding of the dynamics involved.Practical implicationsUniversities should offer more tangible support and training in social entrepreneurship with a gender focus. Governments can create incentives for universities to prioritise their contribution in this area.Social implicationsThe study emphasises the potential of women-led social entrepreneurship initiatives to generate positive impact, underscoring the need for inclusive supportive environments.Originality/valueBy providing insights on the role of Latin American universities in SEEs from a gender perspective, this study contributes to limited literature on the intersection of social entrepreneurship, gender, higher education and geographic context in the region. The research underscores the need to further explore how gender and regional dynamics influence social entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Young Women as Social Entrepreneurs in the Environmental Sector in Ghana: Development Hackers and the Re-imagining of Sustainable Development Models

The article considers the extent to which social entrepreneurship of young women is contributing to sustainable development in Ghana, based on field research conducted between October 2018 and April 2019. Data collection involved a review of the literature and a questionnaire survey of actors within the social entrepreneurship ecosystem in Ghana but is primarily based on the life histories of 13 women entrepreneurs collected using in-depth semi-structured interviews. Social entrepreneurship is undergoing a boom in Ghana which is characterized as having the most entrepreneurs as a proportion of the population globally and with women outnumbering men. Critical discourse analysis was employed to highlight the potential difference between grand narratives of entrepreneurship for development—how it is supposed to work, and how it is working in practice for young women social entrepreneurs in Ghana. The life histories demonstrate that the social entrepreneurship of young women in Ghana does not appear to be contributing to sustainable development because the enterprises yielded small or non-existent economic benefits for the entrepreneurs, demonstrating the limitations of this framework in the Ghanaian context. Indeed, most of the enterprises do not go beyond the ideation stage while the fame of winning social entrepreneurship competitions is used by individuals to build social and symbolic capital for employment by the public sector and the United Nations. In this way, young women are “hacking” social entrepreneurship for their own purposes as it is one of the opportunities open to them but it does not lead to sustainable enterprises. While the social entrepreneurship sector in Ghana is booming, it appears in reality to be a survival activity for women who are subject to gender inequalities and social-cultural harassment.

Making sense of each other: Relations between social enterprises and the municipality

Social Entrepreneurs address ‘wicked’ societal problems and achieve social impact using innovative practices. This study contributes to the analysis of the role of government in the ecosystem of Dutch social entrepreneurs by looking at the support initiatives that the Amsterdam municipality offers. Our paper reveals how municipal officials and social entrepreneurs position themselves in this ecosystem and how they make sense of their collaboration. We think that these issues are important to dwell on to be able see the limits of collaborative governance approaches in the Dutch Social Entrepreneurship eco-system. The results of qualitative interviews conducted with municipality officials, social entrepreneurs and members of network organizations show that the ties between the municipality of Amsterdam and social entrepreneurs are not strong enough to overcome the institutional barriers and that the relationship between them is disrupted by the different logics used. Social entrepreneurs operate from both a social as well as a commercial logic. Social entrepreneurs see themselves as running noble social enterprises that put impact first, but the municipality values a commercial logic when granting subsidies. This means that the social enterprises do not always fit within the frameworks offered by the municipality because their commercial logic is seen as less legitimate when it comes to support. The results of this study confirm that in the governance of wicked problems, there is an ongoing actor positioning process where, in this case, social enterprises and municipalities, hold on to their actor-based understanding of the nature of issues and collaboration.

A study of Basic Framework of Social Entrepreneurship and Present Opportunities in social Enterprising Domain in India

In recent years, social enterprises have been receiving increased attention in many parts of the world. In India, the number of social enterprises has increased fast and more support has become available in all dimensions. India has been witnessing a magnificent growth in the number of social enterprises, especially in last seven - eight years. Social enterprises tend to operate with a purpose of creating value for the society and also generate income. The solutions they offer are innovative, unique, people, affordable and environment friendly. Social enterprises play a crucial role in local communities by creating new opportunities in terms of employment, income growth, enhanced provision of services, increase in local income retention and engaging the community in development programmes. Despite of this remarkable contribution and growth, there is lack of adequate empirical studies to understand the social entrepreneurship ecosystem within the country. This research is conducted to understand the basic framework of social entrepreneurship that has evolved over time and study the present opportunities available in social enterprising domain in India.

Social entrepreneurship ecosystem: The case of the state of Paraíba

This article aims to analyze the configurations of the Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystem (SEE) in Paraíba from the model described by Isenberg (2011) adapted by Audretsch et al. (2022). The case study had a qualitative approach of a descriptive and exploratory nature. The techniques were non-participant observation and semi-structured interviews. The units of analysis were the actors involved in the SEE of Paraíba. The SEE brings together a set of talents with transformative potential. However, the main challenges encountered are the lack of public policies and training. With this, the SEE of Paraíba proved to be an environment still in development, lacking interaction between the actors for the ecosystem strengthening of the region.

Building our understanding of social entrepreneurship ecosystems

ABSTRACT While the literature on conventional entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) is large and growing, relatively little has been written about social entrepreneurship ecosystems (SEEs). Yet, because social entrepreneurship is distinct from conventional entrepreneurship, it is reasonable to assume that their respective ecosystems differ in significant ways as well. How exactly do they differ, if in fact they do? Do a community’s EE and SEE interact, and, if so, in what ways? What system-level attributes make an SEE vibrant? What role do local social entrepreneurship support organizations play in SEEs, and what is their impact on social entrepreneurs and the social and economic fabric of the community? In this thematic issue, we curate a selection of articles that address these and other questions about SEEs and, in so doing, hopefully inspire more research on this important subject while helping to organize it into a cohesive body of research going forward.

Community, capabilities, and the social entrepreneurship ecosystem

ABSTRACT Social entrepreneurs do not work alone; they shape and are shaped by their entrepreneurial ecosystem. While navigating the ecosystem, it is critical to remain focused on the community, including beneficiaries and the end-user. After a brief review of the entrepreneurship ecosystem (EE) and social entrepreneurship ecosystem (SEE) literature and its evolution over time, we elaborate the active and passive roles of community within the SEE, considering both agency and participation. Turning to the capabilities approach, developed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, we show its relevance not only for understanding the way community impacts the SEE, but also as a theoretical frame for processes and programs that aim to further embed community in the SEE. To illustrate this, we discuss the processes of asset mapping, human-centered design, and integrated advocacy; the way they relate to strengthening community-SEE integration; and the way they reflect the capabilities approach. We conclude by discussing lessons learned and providing suggestions for further research.

Does entrepreneurial project monitoring and controlling process matter in social enterprises? Evidence from a developing African country

Social enterprises in developing countries act as development agents and are a constituent of the rising ‘social and solidarity’ economy whose established vision is to create social value and generate positive social outcomes. Traditional monitoring limit project managers’ capabilities to probe a project's ‘known – unknown’ impacts. Given that traditional monitoring arrangements persist to be challenging in resolving the high project failure rate in Africa, entrepreneurial project monitoring and controlling process enables project success. Corporate entrepreneurship literature has provided a strong theoretical basis for incorporating entrepreneurial actions, orientations, and decisions into ‘traditional’ project management process. This paper draws primary data from six selected social enterprises in Uganda to examine what constitute entrepreneurial project monitoring and controlling process. The findings support the need for (a) creating room for errors, (b) self-managed teams, and (c) soft skills maximisation amongst entrepreneurial project managers. Implications for strengthening social entrepreneurship ecosystems in developing economies to accelerate and scale-up social ventures to deliver social and economic value is discussed.

Appalachian social entrepreneurship ecosystem: A framework for rural development

ABSTRACT This paper contributes to the gap in the understudied, but increasingly salient, topic of the development of social enterprise ecosystems (SEEs) in rural areas using the Appalachian Ohio SEE as a framework for understanding the development of rural SEEs. Building on prior studies of the successful rural entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) in Appalachian Ohio, this paper relates the relationship between the EE and SEE in Appalachian Ohio to the context of traditional economic and community development. The case studies reviewed here illustrate the importance of the social capital of regional champions, university as convener and place for ecosystem overlap, and multiple capitals approach to community regeneration. The commonalities identified among cases suggest that a fourth wave of economic development will depend on a healthy intersection of community and economic development that recognizes the need for maintaining real ecosystem services. The SEE framework is especially suited to catalyze this intersection.

Exploration of Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystems in Thailand and Myanmar

Background: Although the social enterprise ecosystems in Thailand and Myanmar are at different levels of development, they share common challenges that need to be addressed to ensure that the sector lives up to its potential of helping these countries fully achieve their Sustainable Development Goals.
 Research objectives: The aim of this research is to identify common issues that social entrepreneurs in Thailand and Myanmar are facing within the ecosystems they operate in, and thus recommend specific actions that institutions of higher education in Thailand and Myanmar can take to support these ecosystems develop.
 Research design and methods: This research utilised desk-based secondary research from existing country reports, and primary research in the form of online surveys and focus groups with different stakeholders such as social entrepreneurs, local government officials and educators.
 Results: We identified several common challenges that social enterprises in these two countries face which include the centralisation of key ecosystem actors, lack of funding access, poor impact measurement and misconceptions of the sector as a whole among stakeholders.
 Conclusions: As a result of the research findings, we have provided several policy recommendations to higher education institutions wishing to engage and support their local social enterprise ecosystems.

Articulation Strategy for the Strengthening of the Management of Social Entrepreneurship Projects, South Region of Colombia Experience

Social entrepreneurship has an increasingly important role in the solution of current social challenges. The aim of this document is to establish an articulation strategy to strengthen the management of social entrepreneurship projects in a region of southern Colombia. A mixed study was carried out by collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data. Actors of the social entrepreneurship ecosystem was studied. Surveys were applied to social entrepreneurs, interviews and focus groups with experts in entrepreneurship from the academic, public and private sectors were carried out. The level of development of the social entrepreneurship ecosystem was identified through the collection of primary sources. Finally, strategies were designed to strengthen the projects of this ecosystem. The strategies focused on the ecosystem community, an enabling environment, the interconnection of the Ecosystem, Entrepreneurial Development Programs, Education, and a city-wide entrepreneurial strategy.
 
 Received: 21 August 2022 / Accepted: 11 October 2022 / Published: 5 November 2022

Entrepreneurship in Jordan: the eco-system of the Social Entrepreneurship Support Organizations (SESOs)

This study aims at assessing the Social Entrepreneurship Support Organizations (SESOs) in Jordan with an updated eco-system reflecting the better resourced Social Entrepreneurship eco-system characterized with comprehensive information; covering the stakeholders’ identification data, ongoing projects and initiatives, work scope, and their targeted groups, accurate data based on a well-developed survey and analysis of the survey data by the authors’ experience in this filed. This study also aims at assessing the SESOs capacity by coincide their desired needs and their actual needs and limit the social innovation concept variation among the different institutions in the ecosystem. This study also provides a survey analysis for the Social Entrepreneurship Support Organizations (SESOs); as an attempt to identify their characteristics and roles in Jordan by adopting the methodology of qualitative and quantitative analysis approach. Results show that (57.89%) of the SESO’s in Jordan have dedicated programs that focus on women's inclusion, and that (68.42%) are hiring more than 50% in their staff. Besides that, results also show that (59.65%) of the SESO’s in Jordan did not dedicate programs for people with disabilities (PWD); which is a high portion in neglecting this segment of people. Besides that (54.39%) do not have designed facilities friendly using for people with disabilities. Moreover, results show that (73.68%) had dedicated programs for youth with different age groups, and (77.19%) of the SESO’s in Jordan had attempted to identify, understand, and actively removing barriers that exist for certain groups of young people in society. Moreover, (70.18%) of the SESO’s in Jordan had organized specific outreach mechanisms to identify, meet, engage, and/or serve different population groups. Finally, results show that (38.60%) of the SESO’s in Jordan had dedicated programs for refugees.

Moral disengagement among social entrepreneurs: initial insights from Indonesia

Moral disengagement - a concept that is closely related to the unethical behaviour of individuals - has started to gain significance in management studies. However, there has been limited research on moral disengagement in entrepreneurship, especially in the social entrepreneurship domain where people tend to assume that social entrepreneurs are inherently ethical individuals. Despite its importance, there is even less social entrepreneurship ethics research in the literature that specifically investigates moral disengagement in the context of developing countries. Using a qualitative method and a critical incident technique, this research investigated moral disengagement among social entrepreneurs in a developing country, Indonesia, in three different periods: during the start-up phase, when they have received revenue, and in the last three months. Our study reveals two important findings. First, in contrast to extant literature that focuses on individual-level attributes, we found that contextual factors drive social entrepreneurs to engage in moral disengagement activities at most stages of venture creation. Second, social entrepreneurs in our sample seem to practice moral disengagement to cope with perceived losses arising from contextual uncertainties. These findings imply the importance of an effective social entrepreneurship ecosystem in Indonesia.

Sosyal Girişimlerin Gelişmesini Destekleyen Üniversite Platformlarının Değerlendirilmesi

The study reports on the operationalization of social entrepreneurship programs that are implemented by two university-based platforms in Turkey. Both initiatives have strategically come together with multiple partners (e.g., for-profit and nonprofit businesses and local governmental agencies) in order to achieve more than what they can accomplish on their own. Resource sharing with the partners, nature of social problems, and program outputs and outcomes were used for exploring the working principles of the two programs. The data collection included secondary data, participant observations, semi-structured interviews with program partners and beneficiaries, and a site visit. The social entrepreneurship ecosystem in the given context was found to be growing yet with gaps in support systems for scale-up projects and impact investing. The findings suggest that the two programs varied in their partnership arrangements, funding, scope, and outputs consistent with their program goals. Identifying the unmet needs in the ecosystem, knowing the platforms' strengths and capabilities, and matching with partners that have complementary resources are found to be effective strategies of the platforms. The study argues that universities are not fully utilizing their vital position to contribute to the improvements of the ecosystem, and more can be achieved by integrating the programs with teaching and research and increasing their specialization in various social issues (e.g., gender equality).

Social entrepreneurship and selected elements of the entrepreneurship ecosystem

The article aims to analyse the development of social entrepreneurship in the entrepreneurial ecosystem’s context based on the example of three countries: Poland, Italy and North Macedonia. The theoretical framework for the analysis and interpretation of the results is determined by new institutional economics and entrepreneurship theories. In turn, the empirical part is based on the analysis of selected indicators on the development of social entrepreneurship; a diagnostic survey has also been carried out among stakeholders (representatives of entities related to social entrepreneurship), and young people in Poland, Italy and North Macedonia. The analysis allows for the of the leading research hypothesis which assumes that one of the most essential and basic elements of the social entrepreneurship ecosystem is knowledge, and its low level within society is a barrier to its development. To make the most of its potential, and increase employment in social enterprises, it is essential to integrate social entrepreneurship with mainstream entrepreneurship and business education.