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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Purpose – Research on economic entrepreneurship identifies a gender gap that is favorable to men. In the
social entrepreneurship arena, the existing evidence is slightly fuzzy, as this gender gap is less preeminent.
This paper aims to identify how gender differences in social entrepreneurial ventures creation are explained
by different personality traits, by analyzing the extent to which female and male social entrepreneurs exhibit
the same personality traits and whether potential differences are able to explain the differences in
predisposition for the creation of new social entrepreneurial ventures.
Design/methodology/approach – A review of the literature on gender differences and personality traits
in social entrepreneurship details the main theoretical developments and builds the hypotheses. Based on the
Big Five model, the investigation uses a hypothesis testing quantitative approach. Primary data were
collected through a questionnaire that was e-mailed and applied to the social entrepreneurs engaged in the
creation of social ventures in Portugal.
Findings – The data gathered suggest that both female and male social entrepreneurs have personalities
characterized by high levels of openness to experience, agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion and
emotional stability. Based on the analysis of variance (ANOVA) between the two groups and logistic
regression, the investigation reveals that women and men who launch a new social venture only differ in one
personality dimension – agreeableness – wherein women scored more highly. No significant differences are
found in the other personality traits.
Research limitations/implications – The research assumes that most aspects of human personality
structure are represented in the Big Five model.
Practical implications – The knowledge about whether gender differences are explained by different
personality traits is critical to public entities that might design appropriate public policies to stimulate social
entrepreneurship. Also, social entrepreneurs’ capacity building programs should be delineated in accordance
with a deeper understanding about gender and personality traits differences.
Social implications – The knowledge of the factors that affects the creation of new social ventures has an
important potential contribution on social value creation and the promotion of gender equality.
Originality/value – This paper links two important topics – gender and entrepreneurs’ personality traits –
scarcely explored in the social entrepreneurship literature. Thus, the paper adds new empirical evidence to
support (or not) the belief that personality and gender matter in the decision to launch a new social venture.
Description
Keywords
Gender, Portugal Social entrepreneurship Personality traits Big Five
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Bernardino, S., Freitas Santos, J., & Cadima Ribeiro, J. (2018). Social entrepreneur and gender: what’s personality got to do with it? International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 10(1), 61-82.
Publisher
Emerald Insight