Social Entrepreneurship Intentions of Nonprofit Organizations

Abstract

Little is known about social entrepreneurship in nonprofit organizations (NPOs), especially about the factors that influence social entrepreneurship intentions at organizational level. Would existing NPOs, as opposed to new ones formed to embark on new social initiatives, strike out into a new territory, or engage in new ventures? What are the necessary internal organizational conditions? This study explores the direct effect of the organizational attributes on a NPO's intention to start a social enterprise. With a sample of 92 charities in Singapore, we found that NPOs led by CEOs with commercial experience, and NPOs possessing high collective efficacy and organization innovativeness were more likely to start a social enterprise. A NPO's social cause (mission) was also found to have a positive effect on its social entrepreneurship intention. Contrary to our expectations, resource availability and risk-taking propensity of the NPOs were not related to social entrepreneurship intentions. Findings and implications were discussed, and future research directions were provided.

Key Words:

• Nonprofit organizations
• social entrepreneurship intentions
• organizational attributes
• Singapore

Acknowledgement

The authors acknowledge the research assistance rendered by Gabriel Boon-Siong Lim.