Abstract
This study investigates the financing sources used by various types of social entrepreneurs and compares them with commercial entrepreneurs empirically. We distinguish between four groups of entrepreneurs: Commercial Entrepreneurs (CE), Socially Responsible Entrepreneurs (SRE), Social Enterprises Entrepreneurs (SEE), and Social Initiative Entrepreneurs (SIE). The analysis is based on a sample of 6,859 commercial and social entrepreneurs from 34 countries, obtained from the 2015 Adult Population Survey of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. A multinomial logistic regression model is used to estimate the relationship between the entrepreneurial category and each financing source. The findings show significant differences in the usage of financing sources among different types of entrepreneurs. Self-funding is less common among social entrepreneurs, with SIE relying the least on personal funds. Informal funding from family members and friends is prevalent among all social entrepreneur groups, particularly SIE. While social entrepreneurs use less bank financing, SRE and SEE are more likely to obtain funding from private investors or venture capital. Public funding is more prevalent among SEE and SIE, with the latter group relying on government programs and grants to a greater extent. Crowdfunding is also a popular financing option for entrepreneurs, but its use is more frequent for SEE and SIE. These findings provide insights into the financing landscape of social entrepreneurship and highlight the distinctive patterns of financial support for different types of social entrepreneurs.
Presenters
Carlos Lopez GutierrezAssociate Professor of Finance, Santander Financial Institute (SANFI), Universidad de Cantabria, Cantabria, Spain Andrea Pérez
Assistant Professor of Marketing, Santander Financial Institute, Universidad de Cantabria, Cantabria, Spain Ana Fernandez Laviada
Associate Professor, SANFI, UNIVERSIDAD DE CANTABRIA , Spain
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Economic, Social, and Cultural Context
KEYWORDS
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP, FUNDING, MULTILOGIT, GEM DATA
