Bernardino, SusanaFreitas Santos, JoséCadima Ribeiro, J.2018-04-202018-04-202018 Bernardino, S., Santos, J. F., & Ribeiro, J. C. (2018). Social Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: An Empirical Examination. In L. Carvalho (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Social Dynamics in a Globalized World (pp. 181-210). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-3525-6.ch0082327-3429; eISSN: 2327-3437http://hdl.handle.net/10400.22/11421Entrepreneurial ecosystems and social entrepreneurship are receiving increasing attention for their ability to foster economic and social development. This study adopts the entrepreneurial ecosystem approach to analyse the extent to which the perceived favourability of external environment promotes or deters the launch of new ventures by social entrepreneurs. The research was based on a survey that collected data through a questionnaire emailed to Portuguese social entrepreneurship ventures. The results show that a favourable entrepreneurial ecosystem has low importance in the decision to develop new social ventures. This result is particularly consistent in more innovative social ventures. This conclusion supports the idea that many social ventures are not based on social innovation, but derive from a traditional approach to social problems. Therefore, the development of new innovative social ventures has to be supported by institutional stakeholders in order to support social entrepreneurs, regardless of the level of favourability of the entrepreneurial context.engEntrepreneurial ecosystem approachTerritorial innovation modelsSocial innovationSocial venturesSocial venturesbook part10.4018/978-1-5225-3525-6.ch008