Network Structure of the Social Entrepreneur: An Analysis Based on Social Organization Features and Entrepreneurs’ Demographic Characteristics and Organizational Status

Abstract

Networks have been widely recognized as important to social entrepreneurship. This investigation aims to analyse how the structure of networks is influenced by the social organizations’ features and the entrepreneurs’ characteristics. After a review of pertinent literature on the topic, exploratory research is performed based on a quantitative approach. The primary data were collected through an online survey sent to Portuguese social organizations. The results confirm that networks have a substantial density in social entrepreneurship and that social organizations are surrounded either by strong or by weak ties. The investigation also reveals that networks’ formation is highly context-dependent, since its structure is influenced by the features of the social organization and the demographic and organizational status of its leaders.