Social Entrepreneurship: Dissection of a Phenomenon through a German Lens

Karina Cagarman, Jan Kratzer and Katharina Osbelt
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Karina Cagarman: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany
Jan Kratzer: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany
Katharina Osbelt: Social Entrepreneurship Netzwerk Deutschland e. V. c/o Bundesverband Deutsche Startups e. V. im Haus der Bundespressekonferenz, 10117 Berlin, Germany

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 18, 1-18

Abstract: The occurrence and scientific investigation of the phenomenon of social entrepreneurship are rather new. The term is very popular among politicians and is reflected in a lot of the political demands and willingness that they express. However, a review of the literature about it shows that there is no common ground or frame, and the historical developments are different in different countries and economies. Based on a study of the literature, a two-phase survey following the ‘Policy Delphi’ approach was conducted in Germany in order to enlighten this frameless picture of social entrepreneurship. Our results indicate five dimensions that extend the core term: ‘social’, namely ‘Societal–Visionary’, ‘Ecological’, ‘Societal–Entrepreneurial’, ‘Economic’, and ‘Innovative–Entrepreneurial’. The degree of intercorrelation among the five dimensions shows that four factors, namely ‘Societal–Visionary’, ‘Societal–Entrepreneurial’, ‘Economic’, and ‘Innovative–Entrepreneurial’, have low to medium-high correlations. The fifth factor, ‘Ecological’, has the weakest correlation with all other factors.

Keywords: social entrepreneurship; definition; Policy Delphi; Germany; dimensions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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