TY - JOUR
T1 - Entrepreneurs' Personality Traits and Social Enterprise
T2 - A Legitimation Perspective
AU - Xiao, Yingzhao
AU - Liu, Zhen
AU - Ahlstrom, David
AU - Bai, Yanzhuang
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH. All rights reserved.
PY - 2024/7/1
Y1 - 2024/7/1
N2 - Prosocial personality traits are thought to be essential characteristics of social entrepreneurs. However, extant research has typically focused on how personality traits affect individuals to simply engage in social entrepreneurship but not on the actual prosocial behavior they employ or the eventual outcomes. We posit that studying the link between personality traits and organizational legitimacy, a salient outcome for social enterprise development, is a fruitful avenue for research. Building on the legitimation perspective, we examine the underlying mechanisms and contextual conditions in the relationship between personality traits (agreeableness specifically) and social enterprise legitimacy. Empirical analysis of 230 social enterprises in China demonstrates that a social enterprise's legitimation strategy via network centrality and the contingent role of the focal venture's development stage importantly conditions the effectiveness of the social entrepreneurs' personality traits and their impact on social enterprise legitimacy. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
AB - Prosocial personality traits are thought to be essential characteristics of social entrepreneurs. However, extant research has typically focused on how personality traits affect individuals to simply engage in social entrepreneurship but not on the actual prosocial behavior they employ or the eventual outcomes. We posit that studying the link between personality traits and organizational legitimacy, a salient outcome for social enterprise development, is a fruitful avenue for research. Building on the legitimation perspective, we examine the underlying mechanisms and contextual conditions in the relationship between personality traits (agreeableness specifically) and social enterprise legitimacy. Empirical analysis of 230 social enterprises in China demonstrates that a social enterprise's legitimation strategy via network centrality and the contingent role of the focal venture's development stage importantly conditions the effectiveness of the social entrepreneurs' personality traits and their impact on social enterprise legitimacy. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
KW - China
KW - entrepreneurial personality
KW - legitimacy
KW - social enterprises
KW - social entrepreneurs
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85144376137&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1515/erj-2022-0216
DO - 10.1515/erj-2022-0216
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85144376137
SN - 2194-6175
VL - 14
SP - 1133
EP - 1159
JO - Entrepreneurship Research Journal
JF - Entrepreneurship Research Journal
IS - 3
ER -