Leadership behavior and organizational performance of social enterprises

Abstract

Social Entrepreneurship is described as “using market based methods to solve social problems” (Miller, Grimes, McMillan, & Vogus, 2012, p.616). In three separate studies, this dissertation investigates the antecedents of social entrepreneurs, their leadership attributes and leadership styles that result in social performance of their social enterprises.

Study 1 employed surveys in Australia and used Self-Determination Theory and Upper Echelon Theory to investigate nascent social entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial activity. We find social entrepreneurs undertake the highest level of entrepreneurial activity when they possess a high desire for independence and recognition and are surrounded by a start-up team with a high level of business acumen. Study 2 uses semi-structured interviews of entrepreneurs in six countries and 14 industries to understand their leadership attributes. We find that shared leadership, adaptability and social networking were important drivers of a social enterprise’s social performance. There is also evidence of multiple performance measures and gender differences. Finally, Study 3 used surveys in Australia and Asia to research leadership of social entrepreneurs. We find servant leadership behaviors and the causation process (planned strategies) of their enterprises significantly predicted social performance.