The Practical Intelligence of Social Entrepreneurs: Managing the Hybridity of Social Enterprises

Abstract

The hybridity of social enterprises – that is to say, their simultaneous pursuit of both economic and social value – has increasingly drawn the attention of scholars in the fields of social entrepreneurship and, more broadly, entrepreneurship. To date, there has been significant debate as to whether or how social enterprises are distinct from for- and non profit organizations and whether generating economic rents and achieving a social mission can complement or substitute for each other. To add nuance to this literature, this study focuses on the role of social entrepreneurs’ practical intelligence, seeking to understand how the practical intelligence of social entrepreneurs can contribute to creating both economic and social value. We generally find positive relationships between practical intelligence and the creation of both social and economic value. However, empirical evidence suggests that some dimensions of practical intelligence are closely related to the creation of economic value, whereas others are related to creating social value. Based on the findings, we discuss how practical intelligence can effectively help social entrepreneurs manage the hybridity of their social enterprises.

The effect of entrepreneurship ecosystem on the entrepreneurial skills of agriculture students: The mediating role of social intelligence and emotional intelligence (The case of University of Zabol, Iran)

“…In other words, if the students have the capability of understanding and controlling their emotions and use them to help their intellectual, decision-making, and communicational activities, they can acquire the skills required for launching a business. The same point has been stated by Alizade Aghdam et al (2016) and Jin (2020), who found a mutual relationship between entrepreneurial skills and social intelligence of people. Besides, the effect of social intelligence was found to be positive and significant on the students' entrepreneurial skills.…”

Antecedents of the Social Impact of Social Enterprises: A Systematic Review and Agenda for Future Research

“…These findings support the study hypothesis, based on human capital theory (Dimov & Shepherd, 2005), that the presence of human capital factors improves a firm’s performance. Jin (2020) likewise confirmed a positive relationship between the practical intelligence of social entrepreneurs and SVC of SEs. Work and business experience is also related to social performance and social impact.…”

“…Most articles offer a rather broad and generic concept description, which we suspect is likely intentional to conveniently fit any SE context or sector. It is also noteworthy that five studies (i.e., Choi & Chang, 2020; Jin, 2020; Lortie et al, 2017; Miles et al, 2013; Perrileux & Szafarz, 2015; Zheng et al, 2020) vaguely defined their social impact construct, failing to explicitly offer a definition in their paper, and rather defined their measurement indicators or implied meaning in relation to the SE’s purpose as an organization. Such poor conceptualization could be one of the reasons why the SE social impact field remains underdeveloped and the literature being scarce and fragmented.…”

“…Research on the antecedents of SEs’ social impact also includes the human capital attributes of social entrepreneurs, particularly those relating to individual abilities and experiences. The attributes investigated in prior research include the entrepreneur’s educational and functional background, their age (Choi & Chang, 2020), their practical intelligence or experiential knowledge, and/or their “ability to apply accumulated skills, disposition and tacit knowledge to solve everyday problems” (Jin, 2020, p. 3).…”

Advancing research on project management in hybrid organizations: insights from the social enterprise literature

“…These capabilities involve recognizing opportunities for bridging by framing a problem differently at the micro-level, designing new organizational practices at the meso-level and aligning with key actors at the macro-level. Among these capabilities, practical intelligence , as an “experience-based, context-specific construct, highlighting entrepreneurs' hands-on experience and learning-by-doing” (Jin, 2020, p. 2), could help set strategic directions, cultivate resources, respond to uncertainties and establish a quality management in social enterprises.…”