Exploring the Motivation of Nascent Social Entrepreneurs

Abstract

Social entrepreneurship (SE) is an increasingly popular practice in which business solutions are applied to social problems. While empirical study of the various facets of SE is on the rise, the motivation of social entrepreneurs -a key antecedent of SE -has received little attention. In contrast, substantial theoretical and empirical work exists on the motivation of commercial entrepreneurs as well as the motivation for public-social sector work. Seeking to fill a gap in the SE literature, this paper presents qualitative findings from in-person, in-depth interviews with self-identified nascent social entrepreneurs that participated in an SE training program in the USA. The findings provide an empirical foundation for further theory development and research on SE motivation.

Identity, identity formation and identity work in entrepreneurship: conceptual developments and empirical applications

“…Nevertheless, given that discrepancies have been identified in the motivations, intentions and antecedent pathways between actors establishing profit and not-for-profit ventures (Germak and Robinson, 2014) it would seem to be reasonable to suggest that socio-cultural influences should not be ignored in identity work.…”

Creation of ICT-Based Social Start-Ups in Iran: A Multiple Case Study

“…see Griffiths et al, 2013) in such a process. Moreover, behavioural elements such as motivations (Germak and Robinson, 2014), skills (Denny et al, 2011;Mueller et al, 2013), intentions (Baierl et al, 2014) have drawn the attention of this group of scholars.…”

Connecting the Dots for Social Value: A Review on Social Networks and Social Entrepreneurship

“…Nicholls and Cho 2006;Nicholls 2010aNicholls , 2010bHuybrechts 2010), there has been a lack of social network perspective despite the fact that social networks are argued to influence opportunity recognition and exploitation in social entrepreneurship (Datta and Jessup 2009;Monllor 2010) and social entrepreneurs are often found to have social proximity to the social need they want to tackle (Germak and Robinson 2013). Haugh (2007) merely recognizes that social interactions help members of a community who have an idea for community entrepreneurship to share their enthusiasm with other members in order to mobilize them to create a venture.…”

“…Social entrepreneurs are also found to be motivated by a blend of self-actualization, achievement orientation, the desire to help society, the closeness to a social problem, and an absence of financial focus (Germak and Robinson 2013). In the non-profit literature, supply-side theories also focus on the profile and the individual preferences of the entrepreneur, explaining the differences between entrepreneurs by the variations in their objective function (Ben-Ner and Van Hoomissen 1991;Badelt 1997;Bilodeau and Slivinski 1998).…”