What Is Different about the Profile of the Social Entrepreneur?

• Author: Marta Peris‐Ortiz,Miguel A. Sastre‐Castillo,Ignacio Danvila‐Del Valle
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21138
• Date: 01 June 2015
• Published date: 01 June 2015

349

N M  L, vol. 25, no. 4, Summer 2015 © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/nml.21138

Journal sponsored by the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University.

Correspondence to: Ignacio Danvila-Del Valle, Complutense University of Madrid—Campus de Somosaguas.

Facultad de CC. Económicas, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid 28223, Spain. E-mail: idanvila@ucm.es.

What Is Diff erent about the Profi le

of the Social Entrepreneur?

Miguel A. Sastre-Castillo,1,2 Marta Peris-Ortiz,3 Ignacio Danvila-Del Valle1

1Complutense University of Madrid, 2Autonomous Technological Institute of México

(ITAM), 3Politécnica University of Valencia

In recent years, the term social entrepreneur has become increasingly common in aca-

demic and business circles. Social entrepreneurs engage in a variety of activities, but always

with the intention of solving social problems. Social entrepreneurs are not merely people

who perform acts of charity; they have an evident desire to improve social well-being and

develop projects with long-term vision. The creation of sustainable social value is a key

characteristic that differentiates them from well-meaning individuals who simply engage in

charitable works. There are, however, significant gaps in our understanding of social entre-

preneurs and few empirical studies on the subject. This present study attempts to identify

the characteristics of more socially oriented entrepreneurs, using sociodemographic variables

and the theory of universal values toward work. Analysis of a sample of approximately 400

people shows that more than half of entrepreneurial orientation can be explained through

the possession of the values of self-enhancement (with an inverse relationship in this case),

self-transcendence, and conservation. The theory of universal values has proved extraordi-

narily useful for studying the characteristics of social entrepreneurs.

Keywords: social entrepreneur, values, entrepreneurship

STUDIES ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP have become increasingly important in the economics

literature in recent years.  is growing interest comes not only from the academic sphere, but

also from public authorities and society itself, where it is viewed as an interesting option to

the uncertainty of traditional careers.

Entrepreneurs have gained visibility and public image, but they do not constitute a uniform

collective; some entrepreneurs seek personal profi t from their activities; for others, social

objectives are more important.

A diff erentiation can thus be made between classical entrepreneurs, also known as commer-

cial or business entrepreneurs, and social entrepreneurs.

Social entrepreneurs engage in a variety of activities, but always for the purpose of helping to

solve social problems such as illiteracy, the integration of minorities, drug addiction, environ-

mental pollution, and so on.

Nonprofi t Management & Leadership DOI: 10.1002/nml

350 SASTRECASTILLO, PERISORTIZ, DANVILADEL VALLE

A social entrepreneur is not simply a person who performs acts of charity; although social

entrepreneurs have an evident desire to improve social well-being, they develop a project with

long-term vision.  e creation of sustainable social value is a key characteristic that diff erenti-

ates them from well-meaning individuals who simply engage in charitable works (Van Slyke

and Newman 2006).

 e present article considers the common and diff erentiating characteristics of classical and

social entrepreneurs and then examines in depth the attitude of social entrepreneurs. We

attempt to explain the inclination toward social rather than classical entrepreneurship through

sociodemographic characteristics and certain psychological characteristics, in the form of work

values, using Schwartz’s (1992) well-known theory of universal values, which is a novelty in

this type of analysis and a valuable contribution to the entrepreneurship literature.

 e general theoretical framework for this study is based on a review of recent literature on

entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs and their differences with classical entrepreneurs.

 en, a specifi c model for analyzing attitude toward social entrepreneurship is constructed

from the relevant theoretical and empirical literature.  e section on the empirical study

describes the research design: population and sample, analysis of the measures used to opera-

tionalize the variables, and the procedure for obtaining and processing the information.  e

study results are presented and discussed followed by the conclusions, limitations of the

study, and suggestions for future research lines.

Theoretical Background

 is section discusses the theoretical background and focus on social entrepreneurship.

General Analysis Model: Social Entrepreneurs as a Different

Category of Entrepreneur

 is section conceptualizes social entrepreneurs and analyzes their characteristics as a subcat-

egory of entrepreneurs, diff erentiating them from the classical business owner, in accordance

with the specialized literature.

Concept and Types of Entrepreneur

 e entrepreneurship discipline has been developed from diff erent perspectives, such as eco-

nomics, psychology, sociology, and anthropology.

In the fi eld of economics, early studies attempted to demonstrate the relationship between

entrepreneurship and economic development. Subsequently, disciplines such as psychology,

sociology, or anthropology introduced a social perspective into the analysis (Guzmán and

Trujillo 2008).

In the most classical conception, entrepreneurs are business owners who manage a business,

but more in-depth study of their attributes and functions has highlighted their role in detect-

ing opportunities (Austrian school perspective), assuming risk (Kirzner’s contributions), and

generating innovation (Schumpeter’s model of the innovative business owner).

 us, many more recent studies relate entrepreneurial attitude with the search for and dis-

covery of profi table opportunities (Shane and Venkataraman 2000; Davidsson and Wiklund