Towards an Understanding of Social Entrepreneurship: Traits and Learned Behavior

Abstract

The discourse surrounding social entrepreneurship has primarily focused on creating a concrete definition for the term both as a part of and separate from traditional entrepreneurship, and the prevailing literature has furnished theoretical studies on the characteristics of social entrepreneurs. However, given the emerging nature of this field there is a lack of empirical research studies that validate some of the proposed theories. This paper will address this gap in the literature by provide empirical research on the fundamental traits and learned behaviors of social entrepreneurs by providing a conceptual model and empirically testing the direct effects. The findings of the current study provided evidence for altruism, perseverance, global risk taking, and social-entrepreneurial self-efficacy. They all have a direct and positive relationship with social entrepreneurial intent. The paper will conclude by outlining the agenda for future research, particularly the relationship between the identified characteristics and social impact.