Abstract:
To date, most efforts to define social entrepreneurship have focused
on adapting existing management theories on entrepreneurship and
non-profits rather than distinguishing the organisational purposes and
structure of social entrepreneurship from traditional for-profit organisations.
There is little consensus among academicians and practitioners
alike as to what social entrepreneurship is and what it is not. To articulate
a clear and non-ambiguous definition of social entrepreneurship, it is
necessary first to understand the distinguishing features of social entrepreneurial
ventures compared with corporate entrepreneurial ventures
and non-profit organisations. This article differentiates these ventures
in terms of their motives, goals, antecedent conditions, processes,
role of the entrepreneur and outcomes. In doing so, it provides a
brief summary of the state of knowledge in the emerging field of social
entrepreneurship and raises new questions and hypotheses for future
research on this topic.
