Purpose This study aims to examine the strategic mechanisms women entrepreneurs use to navigate systemic barriers and drive sustainable, inclusive social impact, integrating the entrepreneurial feminism framework (EFF) and the theory of grit (TOG). Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a qualitative, longitudinal single-case design combining literature review, real-time case analysis of the STREE initiative by Kshamata Innovation Foundation (KIF) in India, and abductive reasoning. Data were drawn from interviews with founders, employees, supporters and beneficiaries, four annual STREE closure reports (2021–2024) and beneficiary case-study documentation, analyses through thematic coding and strategy mapping. Findings Nine literature derived strategies are validated and organised into three domains: Financial literacy, intrinsic motivation and empowerment strategies (S1–S3) included in Motivation and Agency; Multilevel interventions, financial access and networking encompassed under Support System (S4–S6); and human capital transformation, frugal innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem (S7–S9) comprised under Innovation. The resulting GRIT-EQ framework demonstrates how feminist values and psychological grit combine to sustain impact-driven entrepreneurship under adversity. Practical implications The study offers actionable insights for practitioners, policymakers, government and NGOs to design gender inclusive programs, simplify funding processes and build resilient and supportive entrepreneurial ecosystems. Originality/value This study offers one of the first longitudinal, practice-based accounts of how a women-led Indian social enterprise builds pathways for beneficiaries to grow in a gender-unequal market, extending EFF and grit research into an operational roadmap aligned with SDGs 1, 5 and 10.
Purpose This study aims to examine how social entrepreneurship traits relate to attitudes toward sustainable development. The focus is on creativity and self-confidence. This study also tests the moderating role of leisure volunteering. Educational and societal sustainability attitudes form the outcome domains. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a cross-sectional survey design. Data were collected from female teacher candidates. Validated self-report scales measured creativity, self-confidence, leisure volunteering and sustainability attitudes. The proposed model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Interaction terms were included to assess moderation effects. Findings Creativity showed a positive effect on both educational and societal sustainability attitudes. Self-confidence positively predicted educational sustainability attitude but not societal attitude. Leisure volunteering significantly moderated the relationship between creativity and societal sustainability attitude. Other moderation paths were not supported. The results indicate a domain-specific and conditional role of volunteering. Originality/value This study extends sustainability research by integrating behavioral reasoning theory with social entrepreneurship traits and leisure volunteering. It clarifies how creative traits translate into societal sustainability attitudes through voluntary engagement in an educational context.
Purpose This study aims to examine how young people develop the intention to create a social economy enterprise and addresses a key question: Do traditional models of entrepreneurial intention adequately explain collective and socially oriented forms of entrepreneurship? Design/methodology/approach Drawing on a sample of 2,000 young individuals (18–34) in Quebec, including 733 with entrepreneurial intentions, this study combines regression analysis and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to capture both net effects and configurational pathways. Findings The results challenge and qualify dominant intention models. Core predictors of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), such as entrepreneurial self-efficacy and attitude, are not significant in this context. Instead, intention is primarily shaped by subjective norms and value orientations, with altruistic values and low egoistic orientations emerging as central drivers. The configurational analysis reveals multiple pathways to intention, highlighting the role of socially embedded and value-driven mechanisms. Research limitations/implications The study relies on single-item measures and a context-specific indicator of social economy knowledge, which calls for cautious interpretation. Future research should develop validated multi-item scales and examine additional individual, relational and institutional factors, including identity and ecosystem influences. Practical implications The findings suggest that fostering collective social entrepreneurship among young people requires moving beyond traditional skill-based approaches. Educational and support programs should emphasize value development, collective engagement and awareness of the social economy, while addressing persistent misconceptions. Originality/value By integrating the value-attitude-behavior model with the TPB, this study demonstrates that individual-centric models have limited explanatory power in collective social entrepreneurship contexts. It reframes entrepreneurial intention as a socially embedded and value-driven process, extending the boundaries of intention-based models in entrepreneurship research.
Purpose This study aims to examine how institutional pressures and organisational capabilities jointly shape digital transformation (DT) trajectories in work integration social enterprises (WISEs). While digitalisation promises efficiency gains and expanded social impact, it may also deepen digital exclusion and trigger mission drift in organisations designed to support vulnerable workers. Design/methodology/approach This study integrates institutional theory and the resource-based view (RBV) to analyse how external legitimacy pressures and internal dynamic capabilities influence DT processes in WISEs. Empirically, this study draws on five national focus groups and one transnational focus group involving 35 managers and practitioners across Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Romania. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings The findings reveal three distinct DT trajectories in WISEs: proactive transformation, where strong dynamic capabilities enable strategic and inclusive innovation; adaptive alignment, where moderate capabilities support gradual integration of digital tools while preserving organisational mission; and symbolic compliance, where limited capabilities result in superficial or project-driven digital adoption aimed primarily at maintaining legitimacy. This study demonstrates that DT in hybrid organisations is not a linear technological process but a socially embedded negotiation between institutional expectations and organisational agency. Research limitations/implications This study is based on qualitative focus group data collected across four European countries and focuses primarily on organisational and managerial perspectives. Future research could incorporate longitudinal approaches and include the experiences of workers and beneficiaries to examine the long-term social implications of digitalisation in WISEs. Practical implications The findings highlight the importance of sustained organisational learning, participatory implementation practices and stable institutional support systems for achieving inclusive digitalisation in WISEs. Policymakers and funders should prioritise long-term digital capacity-building rather than short-term project-based interventions. Originality/value This study contributes to social enterprise and hybrid organisation research by developing a contextual model of DT trajectories in WISEs. By integrating institutional theory and the RBV, this study explains how hybrid organisations translate external digitalisation pressures into divergent organisational responses under varying institutional conditions.
Purpose Grounded in institutional theory, this paper investigates how contrasting institutional environments shape the strategic focus and evolution of social entrepreneurship. By comparing Germany (a mature welfare state) and Nigeria (a nation with significant institutional voids), this study aims to theoretically and empirically map how varying state capacities dictate the function of social enterprise. Design/methodology/approach To analyze these contextual differences at scale, this study uses a structural topic model on a unique corpus of 335,131 words derived from the official narratives of 196 Ashoka Fellows (83 Germany and 113 Nigeria). Topic prevalence was modeled as a function of the interaction between fellowship year and country to test for theoretically relevant diverging trends. Findings The analysis uncovers two distinct models of social innovation. In Nigeria, a substitutive model prevails, with thematic topics focused on filling gaps in foundational services like healthcare, sanitation and justice. In Germany, a complementary model is dominant, with themes centered on reforming existing systems and addressing postindustrial challenges like migrant integration and sustainable consumption. This study finds statistically significant evidence that these two ecosystems are evolving in different directions over time, particularly in the domains of political policy engagement and environmental advocacy. Practical implications The findings serve as a crucial reminder for practitioners, funders and support organizations to avoid a “one-size-fits-all” approach to social entrepreneurship. Effective support must be context-aware, tailored to the specific role (substitutive or complementary) that social entrepreneurs play within their national system. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper offers the first empirical, large-scale comparison of the thematic content and evolution of social enterprise ecosystems in the Global North and Global South. Its primary value lies in proposing and providing initial empirical grounding for a new theoretical framework – substitutive vs complementary social innovation – that enhances our understanding of contextualized social entrepreneurship.
