A New Understanding of the Role of Self-oriented Motivations in the Creation of Social Enterprises

Alice Mascena Barbosa and Guillaume Dumont
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Alice Mascena Barbosa: Ivey Business School
Guillaume Dumont: EM - EMLyon Business School

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Abstract: Drawing on two long-term ethnographic fieldworks with social entrepreneurs, this article starts to uncover the multilayered nature of the motivations underlying the creation of social enterprises. We investigate the following research question: what types of self-oriented motivations might drive social entrepreneurs? Departing from previous research and popular opinion, which foregrounds the primacy of prosocial intentions, we show the critical role played by self-oriented motives. To explain this finding, we advance three analytical categories of self-oriented motives—entrepreneurial lifestyle, repurposing expertise, and solving a social or environmental puzzle. We then illuminate these categories through the illustrative examples of six social entrepreneurs. Based on our findings, we contend that creating a social enterprise can also be the unintended consequence of adopting entrepreneurial behavior, leading to the creation of a venture guided by these three types of self-oriented motivations. Finally, we consider the implications of this study for the field of social entrepreneurship.

Keywords: Social entrepreneurship; Social entrepreneurial intention; Motivation; Ethnography (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-05
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Published in Journal of Business Ethics, 2024, 191 (3), 591-609 p. ⟨10.1007/s10551-023-05464-3⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04325721

DOI: 10.1007/s10551-023-05464-3

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