“JUST” BUSINESS AND OFTEN PERSONAL:THE INCIDENTS THAT SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS IDENTIFY AS CRITICAL TO LEADING THEIR ENTERPRISES

Dissertation Defense Presentation

Antioch University

Jerrid P. Kalakay

Mitch Kusy, Ph.D., Chair Harriet Schwartz, Ph.D., Methodologist Elizabeth Holloway, Ph.D., Committee

Member Mary Conway Dato-on, Ph.D., Committee

Member G. Thomas Lumpkin, Ph.D., External Reader

Committee Introductions

Outline My Background Introduce the Topic Working Definitions Literature Review Dissertation Question

Purpose of Research Methodology Participants Findings Implications for

Leadership and Change

Researcher’s Background Higher Education Professional/Faculty

Member Service-Learning Leadership Education and Development Social Entrepreneurship Education

Co-Founded Leadership and Organizational Development Practice

My Disorientating Dilemma Service-Learning Trip Volunteerism and Community Service

Realization Immediate Needs vs. Sustainable Change Fundamental misunderstanding of a

“Successful life” Search for a sustainable solution

Social Entrepreneurship Practice has existed for hundreds of

years. Scholarship has come into being over

the past 30 years. “Doing well, while doing good” (Embley,

1993).

Working Definitions Social Entrepreneurship

Process of pursuing innovative solutions to social problems

Mission to create and sustain social value Draws upon business and nonprofit worlds (Dees, 1998)

Social Entrepreneur Plays the role of a change agent Adopts a mission to create and sustain social value Recognizes and relentlessly pursues new

opportunities (Dees, 1998)

Working Definitions Continued Social Value Creation

Little to do with profits Fulfillment of basic and long-standing needs

(Certo and Miller, 2008) Strategic Leadership

Management of an overall enterprise Substantive decision-making responsibilities

(Finkelstein and Hambrick, 1996).

Literature Review Social Entrepreneurs

Values Tensions (Diochon & Anderson, 2010)Salient Identity: Activist or Entrepreneur

(Simms & Robinson, 2009) Strategic Leadership

Evolution of Concept (Barnard, 1938) Application on Social Enterprises

Literature Review Continued Social Value Creation

MeasurementRoberts Enterprise Development Fund’s Social

Return on Investment (SROI) Role as a Goal (Acs, Boardman, & McNeely,

2013; Audretsch & Keilbach, 2004)

What Incidents Do Social Entrepreneurs Identify As Critical To Leading Their Enterprises?

Dissertation Question

Purpose of Research Field to continue to mature beyond its

infancy Utilize established constructs and

theories from other disciplines. Better understand the probable

uniqueness in the processes, decisions, and operational factors involved in social entrepreneurship (Certo & Miller, 2008).

Importance of Research Little known about the experiences

social entrepreneurs have in leading their enterprises

Gain insights into the experiences of leading social enterprises

Inform the education and development of current and potential social entrepreneurs

Methodology Qualitative Constructivist Approach

Knowledge is socially constructed through the vantage point of the social entrepreneur (Chell & Pittaway, 1998).

Critical Incident Technique (CIT) Critical importance to the interviewee History in organizational science (Chell &

Pittaway, 1998) Recent applications in entrepreneurship (Cope &

Watts, 2000; Kaulio, 2003)

Critical Incident Technique John Flanagan (1954) – U.S. Air force on Pilot

Performance Established the general guidelines and structures for

the research method. Most cited article by I/O psychologists over the past 40

years (Anderson & Wilson, 1997) Focus on critical events and data collection is

through interviews Data analysis is conducted by determining frame of

reference, form emerging categories, narrative form of categories with operational definitions and self descriptive titles (Butterfield et al., 2005)

CIT Reporting FrameworkAntecedents

(Social Entrepreneur

Reported)

Incident (Social

Entrepreneur Reported)

Outcome (Social

Entrepreneur Reported)

FIGURE 3. CONCEPTUAL REPORTING FRAMEWORK OF STUDY

Social Entrepreneurs (Participants) Social Entrepreneurs

19 United States Ashoka Fellows English-speaking founders of the social

enterprises With 1 or more years of experience Purposeful Sampling & Snowball Sampling Confidentiality (demographic information

only)

Incidents and Interviews Incidents

Sought to reach saturation Same type of information 116 incidents

Interviews Were semi-structured Phone or Skype Recorded for transcription and analysis Professional transcription service Cross-referenced transcripts to recordings

Analyzing, Interpreting, and Reporting the Data Dedoose Qualitative Research Data

Analysis software Emergent Thematic coding approach and

a constant comparative method of analysis (Holloway & Schwartz, 2014)

Coding Partner

Findings Critical Areas

Social Entrepreneurial Mindset

Experiencing Beneficial Relationships

Experiencing Difficult Relationships

Recalibration of

Enterprise Leadership Transition

Founding of Enterprise

Experience of Losing Funding

Experience of Obtaining Funding

Recognition

Social Entrepreneurial Mindset Described incidents with a novel

positivity Atypical area

Unacknowledged or unseen domain

Experiencing Beneficial Relationships

Positive impacts on the social entrepreneurs and their enterprises. Expansion of operations Financial support Becoming partners

Experiencing Difficult Relationships Negative impacts on the social

entrepreneurs and their enterprises. Embarrassment at major events Workplace unease Theft of intellectual property

Recalibration of Enterprise A realignment, restructure, or a

refocusing of the core mission and operations of the enterprise. Refocused energies and resources Decreased the number of people served to

focus on quality of service Greater satisfaction and confidence in

services provided

Leadership Transition Realizations leading to transition Experience of leadership transition Outcomes

Within six months there will be a new CEO National spokesperson for enterprise

Implications for Leadership and Change

Relational Leadership Coordination of others through a process of social influence

(Uhl-Bien, 2006).

Social Change Leadership Multi-frame perspectives Power dynamics Building the capacities to produce social change

(Ospina and Foldy, 2005; Crosby and Bryson, 2005; Slesky and Smith, 1994).

Leadership for the Common Good (Crosby and Bryson, 2005)

“When I look back on it all, like that’s where I can say, ‘okay, it’s definitely not a failure. It’s not what I thought it would be in many ways, and it had some weird twists and turns along the way, but I can definitely say that we have made a difference and we have built an economically viable organization” (Art, personal communications, November 13, 2014).

Quote

THANK YOU Questions? *References in DissertationAntioch University

My greatest hope is that this work provides even just one person the motivation to get started or continue their journey in creating positive social change.