Social Entrepreneurship

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to contribute to a better understanding of the link between social entrepreneurship and institutional environment in Portugal. A quantitative approach is used in the study, with primary data collected through an online survey. A questionnaire was emailed to both Portuguese Non-Governmental Organizations and projects available on the Portuguese Social Stock Exchange. In the analysis of the data, we used descriptive statistics, factorial analysis and t-student tests in an attempt to validate the research hypotheses. The results show that a favorable institutional environment has low importance in the decision to develop social entrepreneurial initiatives. This conclusion supports the idea that many social entrepreneurs can emerge even in developing regions where the institutional environment is weak. Therefore, social entrepreneurship could be an instrument of regional development and contribute to attenuating the social and economic differences among Portuguese regions.

Digital technologies, social entrepreneurship and resilience during crisis in developing countries: evidence from Nigeria

“…However, evidence of interactions between institutional environments and SE is mixed, reinforcing the conflicting views of advocates of institutional frameworks regarding SE. For instance, in a study to understand the link between SE and the institutional environment in Portugal, Bernardino et al (2016) conclude that a favourable institutional environment has minimal importance in the emergence of SE, implying that SE can flourish even in weak Crisis management in developing economies institutional contexts. But an alternative stream of research investigating the link between institutional environments and SE in developing economies suggest that institutional environments have a positive and significant impact on SE (Urban and Kujinga, 2017;Littlewood and Holt, 2018).…”

“…However, evidence of interactions between institutional environments and SE is mixed, reinforcing the conflicting views of advocates of institutional frameworks regarding SE. For instance, in a study to understand the link between SE and the institutional environment in Portugal, Bernardino et al. (2016) conclude that a favourable institutional environment has minimal importance in the emergence of SE, implying that SE can flourish even in weak institutional contexts.…”

Local context and post‐crisis social venture creation

“…Social entrepreneurship literature suggests that educational institutions can supply courses and graduate degree programs on social entrepreneurship, which may be essential in raising awareness and building a knowledge base; building a social entrepreneurial culture and developing skills; and providing services and creating pathways for development (Bernardino, Santos, & Ribeiro, 2016). Some studies have found that support from universities is highly important for new venture creation, in terms of technical and commercial support, and business advice provided to entrepreneurs (Lockett, Cave, Kerr, & Robinson, 2009).…”