The influence of the ecosystem on the motivation of social entrepreneurs

Abstract

Social entrepreneurs have particular characteristics that differentiate them from commercial entrepreneurs, but research on this differential behavior is still a field in which many questions need to be explored. Specifically, a factor of special relevance is the ecosystem where social entrepreneurial activity takes place. The aim of this study is to analyze how the ecosystem affects the motivation of social entrepreneurs compared to commercial entrepreneurs. This general objective is divided into two specific objectives. First, we analyze how the ecosystem influences the probability of being a social entrepreneur, considering both factors of the entrepreneurial environment and economic and financial factors. Second, we analyze whether the effect of the entrepreneurial ecosystem is determined by the level of development of the country where the activity takes place. The results show that the entrepreneurial ecosystem (the entrepreneurial, financial, and institutional environment) determines the motivation of social entrepreneurs in a different way compared to commercial entrepreneurs. In addition, we find that this influence is different according to the level of development of countries. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.