The moderating effect of countries' development on the characterization of the social entrepreneur: an empirical analysis with GEM data

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyze the moderating effect that the level of development of countries exerts on the factors that define the behavior of social entrepreneurs, distinguishing the effect produced in innovation-driven economies from that in factor/efficiency-driven economies. Our study contributes to the advancement of one of the most relevant problems detected in social entrepreneurship research: the lack of empirical quantitative studies, mainly due to the lack of harmonized and comparable international data. We perform an empirical multivariable analysis using 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data related to social entrepreneurship. The results show that both the variables that measure the values and skills to start a business and those related to the environment differentiate social from commercial entrepreneurs. In addition, our findings show how the development of the country plays a decisive moderating role, modifying the effect of the values and skills to be a social entrepreneur, the influence of gender, and even the relevance of entrepreneurs'perception of their environment.