For Love or Money? Achievement Orientation, Non-Monetary Focus and the Nascent Social Entrepreneur
Social entrepreneurship, defined in this study as the development of new social ventures with an organizational focus on both social impact and financial performance, is increasingly becoming a topic of empirical research. The antecedent factors that motivate social entrepreneurs to launch such social ventures are starting to become widely examined by social entrepreneurship scholars. Building upon a recent qualitative study that uncovered a framework for the motivational bases of nascent social entrepreneurs (Author names redacted, 2014), this research aims to test two aspects of these motivational bases: accomplishing a significant achievement, and focusing on non-monetary results as opposed to monetary or financial performance.
Methods
A binary logistic regression analytical strategy was adopted to determine whether a nascent entrepreneur intends to launch a commercial enterprise or a social enterprise. This dichotomous variable (whether one plans to be a social versus commercial entrepreneur) served as the dependent variable in this analysis (see Gras & Lumpkin, 2012). The independent variables in this study were the various motivational bases of nascent entrepreneurs. The sample (N=217) included data from both a publicly available dataset, the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics II (PSED II), and from primary data collected via the New Jersey Social Innovation Institute (NJSII) during 2012 and 2013.
Results
The findings suggest that: (1) there is a significant and positive association between one’s achievement orientation and being a nascent social entrepreneur (as opposed to a nascent commercial entrepreneur); (2) there is a significant and negative association between one’s focus on money and financial matters and being a nascent social entrepreneur (as opposed to a nascent commercial entrepreneur). Additionally, the antecedent motivational factors of personal fulfillment and educational level, included as control variables, also have significant effects on one’s choice of starting up a social venture for the first time as opposed to launching a commercial venture.
Conclusions and Implications
These findings imply that, when launching a new enterprise, nascent social entrepreneurs pay greater attention to achievement (status, respect, and recognition) and focus less on financial gains (personal income, wealth, and financial security), compared with their commercial counterparts. However, further testing is needed to judge whether there is purely a trade-off between “love” and “money”. The paper contributes to the understanding of social entrepreneurship motivational theory as well as provides guidance to practitioners engaging in social entrepreneurship.
References
Author names redacted. (2014). Exploring the motivation of nascent social entrepreneurs. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 5(1), 5-21.
Gras, D. & Lumpkin, G. T. (2012). Strategic foci in social and commercial entrepreneurship: A comparative analysis. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 3(1), 6-23.