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No 2009:142:
Portrait of the Social Entrepreneur: Statistical Evidence from a US Panel

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Gregg G. Van Ryzin , Seth Grossman , Laurie DiPadova-Stocks and Erik Bergrud
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Gregg G. Van Ryzin: Rutgers University, Postal: School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University, 360 Dr. MLK Blvd., Hill Hall, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
Seth Grossman: Rutgers University, Postal: School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University, 360 Dr. MLK Blvd., Hill Hall, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
Laurie DiPadova-Stocks: Park University, Postal: Hauptmann School for Public Affairs, Park University, Kansas City, MO, USA
Erik Bergrud: Park University, Postal: Hauptmann School for Public Affairs, Park University, Kansas City, MO, USA

Abstract: Social entrepreneurship is an increasingly important concept in the study of voluntary and nonprofit organizations. In spite of the growing recognition of this concept, little is known about what individual characteristics might describe or explain who in society is likely to be (or become) a social entrepreneur. This preliminary study empirically addresses this question using data from a United States online panel. Our results suggest that social entrepreneurs are likely to be female, non-white, younger, and college-educated individuals with some business experience and who live in big cities. Social entrepreneurs also tend to have more social capital, as measured by their activity in clubs and organizations other than work, and they are more likely to be happy, interested in politics, extroverted, giving (to charity), and liberal ideologically. Although exploratory, these findings help describe the social entrepreneur and suggest ways in which this important actor in civil society can be better identified, understood, and perhaps cultivated.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Social enterprise; Social capital; Personality; United States

Language: English

11 pages, 2009

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RePEc:hhh:senior:2009_142 This page was generated 2009-11-02 09:57:00