Social Ventures from a Resource–Based Perspective: An Exploratory Study Assessing Global Ashoka Fellows

Abstract

This study aims to discover relationships using a resource–based view of entrepreneurship and the social value creation characteristics of 70 social entrepreneurs. This study builds on existing research that commercial and social entrepreneurs share similar operational processes by providing empirical support for these relationships from a sample of acknowledged successful social entrepreneurs and by applying a resource–based lens to the context of social entrepreneurship. Novel qualitative and quantitative content analysis techniques were applied to the online profiles of Ashoka Fellows. Statistically significant relationships were found among measures of partnerships, financial capital, innovativeness, organizational structure, and knowledge transferability. These findings suggest that social entrepreneurs, when viewed through a resource–based lens, demonstrate similar internal operational processes in utilizing resource bundles as commercial entrepreneurs.