The Support Needs of Social Entrepreneurs - lessons from the Impact Hub network

This paper presents an overview of insights from 5 years of research together with the Impact Hub networks, analyzing a sample of over 6,000 social entrepreneurial members. Focusing on the types of support and resources that their members seek, we identify the types of support that are most sought after, temporal patterns of support, and how support needs differ along economic contexts. Finally, we give an overview of typical support institutions of social enterprises in Impact Hubs around the world

Paris sehen... und ein Unternehmen gründen? Interkulturelle Erfahrung und das Erkennen von unternehmerischen Handlungschancen

Internationale Migranten werden häufiger selbständig und gründen Unternehmen als Menschen ohne interkulturelle Erfahrung. Aktuelle Theorien legen nahe, dass ihre unternehmerische Aktivität durch spezielle Ressourcen und institutionelle Arrangements ausgelöst wird, die es attraktiver machen unternehmerische Chancen zu nützen, als Beschäftigung am Arbeitsmarkt zu suchen. Im Gegensatz dazu beschreibt diese Dissertation eine neue Perspektive auf das Phänomen. Sie entwickelt die Hypothese, dass interkulturelle Erfahrungen die Fähigkeit erhöhen, unternehmerische Chancen zu erkennen, indem sie Zugang zu neuem Wissen schaffen und kreatives Denken unterstützen. Die Ergebnisse einer Querschnittstudie (n=444) und eines longitudinalen natürlichen Experimentes (n=243) bestätigen die genannte und weitere Hypothesen und zeigen, dass interkulturelle Erfahrung, kulturelle Distanz, Wissen über neue Produkte und Dienstleistungen und divergentes Denken die Fähigkeit beeinflussen, unternehmerische Chancen wahrzunehmen. Die Ergebnisse bieten Implikationen für Forschung, Politik und Praxis in den Bereichen Entrepreneurship, Bildung und Migration. (author's abstract

Are voluntary international migrants self-selected for entrepreneurship? An analysis of entrepreneurial personality traits

In many countries, international migrants show a high tendency to become entrepreneurs. In the literature this has often been attributed to discrimination, ethnic networks, and sociodemographic differences. This paper examines a new explanation and argues that voluntary international migrants have a more entrepreneurial personality as a result of self-selection. An analysis of intentions, preparatory actions (n = 1,385) and long-term actions (n = 360) of skilled migrants and non-migrants confirms this hypothesis. It suggests that the relationship between voluntary international migration and entrepreneurship is mediated by a greater willingness to take risks and, to some extent, by a greater need for achievement

Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe: Challenges and Opportunities

More than two decades have passed since nonprofit and third-sector researchers "discovered" Central and Eastern Europe as an area of scholarly interest. After the collapse of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the fall of the Iron Curtain, scholars noted the emergence of new civil society actors and were curious to understand the role these actors would play in their societies. Since that time, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has experienced intensive periods of transformation, conflict and renewal. This study is guided by the intention to develop a better understanding of the current state of civil society in Central and Eastern Europe, the diverse pathways of its development, and its possible future trajectories

See Paris and ... found a business? The impact of cross-cultural experience on opportunity recognition capabilities

Internationally mobile individuals such as migrants and expatriates exhibit a higher level of entrepreneurial activity than people without cross-cultural experience. Current research suggests that this pattern is rooted in specific resources and institutional arrangements that increase the attractiveness of exploiting entrepreneurial opportunities. In this study, we provide an additional explanation: We argue that cross-cultural experience increases the ability to recognize entrepreneurial opportunities. This argument is supported by two complementary studies - a longitudinal quasi-experiment and a priming experiment. We find convergent evidence that cross-cultural experience increases a person's capabilities to recognize particularly profitable types of opportunities by facilitating the application of cross-cultural knowledge for the discovery of arbitrage opportunities and creative recombination

Civil Society and Its Institutional Context in CEE

Although civil societies in Central and Eastern Europe are often portrayed as similar, united by a shared communist past, they have developed along increasingly divergent trajectories over the past three decades. This article investigates the current state of civil society in the region and the role the institutional context plays in it. Drawing on historical institutionalism and the process of European integration, we classify the 14 countries under investigation into three distinct groups and analyze data from a survey of more than 350 local civil society experts. We find that, together with domestic governments, international donors and the EU are perceived as the most influential institutional actors for civil society organizations. Their respective influences, however, depend largely on a country's stage in the EU accession process. Overall, the study provides a differentiated mapping of civil society in this region and a better understanding of how the institutional context relates to a Country's civil society

Das Potential von Social Business in Österreich

Der vorliegende Bericht stellt die Ergebnisse einer im Frühjahr 2015 durchgeführten Studie zum Thema "Das Potential von Social Business in Österreich" vor. Basierend auf einer systematischen Literaturrecherche, der Auswertung von Sekundärdatensätzen und einer ExpertInnenbefragung (n=18), werden die derzeitige Bedeutung und das zukünftige Potential von Social Businesses analysiert

Impact-oriented networks in the context of philanthropy: an evaluation of the Bosch Alumni Network

This report presents the findings of an exploration into the operating principles, benefits and social impact of the Bosch Alumni Network (BAN), an impact-oriented network that brings together more than 6,800 current fellows, grantees, staff and partners of the Robert Bosch Stiftung (RBSG) from all over the world. It builds on the results of a 12-month research project (09/2019-08/2020), comprising of the review of scientific literature (80+ sources) and company documents, 13 background interviews, 22 interviews with members, a participatory observation and an online survey of 634 members

Addressing Grand Challenges Collectively: A brief introduction to Impact-oriented Networks

This paper aims to provide a brief introduction to networks from the perspective of philanthropy and social impact. Acknowledging the depth and breadth of the discourse around networks and its terminology, we focus on a particular type of networks – impact-oriented networks – and discuss their key characteristics, value creation and, briefly, their potential role in the philanthropic toolkit