Title: Perceptions of success of a social entrepreneurship initiative: a cross-cultural management approach

Authors: Kristina Henricson Briggs

Addresses: Management of Organizational Renewal and Entrepreneurship, Chalmers University of Technology, Vera Sandbergs Allé 8, 412 96 Göteborg, Sweden

Abstract: Entrepreneurship is often linked to economic growth and is increasingly popular as a tool for economic development. However, entrepreneurship and cross-cultural management in Africa is still an under researched area. This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of how different perceptions of a fruitful project are a key aspect in the management of social entrepreneurship projects. It reports on a Swedish social entrepreneurship initiative in Uganda which was longitudinally studied from 2007 to 2010. Data was collected during field studies and interviews. The conclusion points at the fact that the interpretation of the results is influenced by the cross-cultural management perspective of the interpreter and easily follows the same ethnocentric pattern that we try to avoid when formulating projects. Those findings could be applied in similar projects anywhere in the world.

Keywords: cross-cultural management; social entrepreneurship; Africa; economic development; entrepreneurs; Uganda; success; perceptions; interpretation; economic growth; Sweden; longitudinal studies; ethnocentricity.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSEI.2014.064827

International Journal of Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 2014 Vol.3 No.2, pp.122 - 136

Received: 03 Apr 2014
Accepted: 29 May 2014
Published online: 30 Sep 2014 *

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