How Do Social Ventures Select New Customers and Contracts? Evaluation Criteria and the Role of Social Entrepreneurial Identity

Abstract

To grow their business, social ventures in B2B and B2G contexts must frequently evaluate the attractiveness of new customers and contracts. But what criteria guide these evaluations, and how do they differ based on the social identity of the decision maker? We investigate this research question using a conjoint analysis comprising 888 decisions by 111 social entrepreneurs. Our results show that social impact and value alignment with the customer seem to matter more than financial impact and that social entrepreneurs’ identities shape these criteria. Our study contributes to research on the evaluation of new customers and contracts by social ventures.