The building blocks of social entrepreneurship: empirical model and framework

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

The purpose of this exploratory study is to identify a common path followed by social entrepreneurs, so as to build a comprehensive empirical model. The methodology used is qualitative interviews; in particular, semi-structured questions were addressed to a sample of ten social entrepreneurs, whose answers were transcribed and analysed. The main result is represented by a five-stage pattern followed by social entrepreneurs: each stage is firstly described and further linked to specific challenges that social entrepreneurs face and assets they need during the process. It is fundamental to highlight that some of these stages and challenges are peculiar to social entrepreneurship, differing from regular entrepreneurship. The key conclusion is that it is possible to identify a common pattern that could guide current and future social entrepreneurs. Furthermore, this research paper emphasises best practices and lesson learned from current social entrepreneurs by leaving a powerful heritage to who is interested in make a real change in society.