Title: Characteristics of social entrepreneurs in Mexico

Authors: Mónica Félix González; Antonio Alejandro Arriaga Martínez

Addresses: Faculty of Economics and Business, Universidad Anáhuac México, Mexico ' Faculty of Economics and Business, Universidad Anáhuac México, Mexico

Abstract: Within social entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurs are recognised for creating innovative solutions to address social problems or needs. Research on the characteristics of this type of entrepreneurs is in an early stage. This article contributes to literature by taking the main characteristics of entrepreneurs in commercial entrepreneurship, transferring them to social entrepreneurship and conducting an explorative study with 12 social entrepreneurs in Mexico to provide qualitative evidence that confirms the presence of some of the characteristics found among commercial entrepreneurs, such as opportunity identification, creativity, high commitment, passion, high level of trust, leadership, self-realisation and need for independence; and adding new ones to the conversation such as 'deep love for humanity', 'good humour', 'being a dreamer' and 'considering the social initiative as a life-project', among others. The finding of these new characteristics sheds light on the understanding of the personality and behaviour of successful social entrepreneurs in a developing country in Latin America.

Keywords: social entrepreneur; social entrepreneurs' characteristics; social value creation; social impact; Mexico.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSEI.2020.115510

International Journal of Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 2020 Vol.5 No.4, pp.259 - 276

Received: 30 Nov 2020
Accepted: 02 Dec 2020
Published online: 07 Jun 2021 *

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