The mediating role of female migration on social entrepreneurship activity

Abstract

Social entrepreneurial firms exist within environments that are often severely resource constrained. The purpose of this study is to investigate several macro-level factors that can stimulate or impede the emergence of social entrepreneurship. Although little prior research on how these determinants impact social entrepreneurship has been conducted, this study reveals that several crucial macro-level variables appear to be related to social entrepreneurship. Unlike previous studies, this study employs enhanced variables designed to capture local perceptions as well as secondary data inputs. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression techniques were used to understand their effects on social entrepreneurial activity. The results reveal that a country’s governance and female migration are related to the level of social entrepreneurial activity. In addition, positive female migration serves as an important mediating role between governance and increased levels of social entrepreneurial activity. Moreover, implications for understanding the role of macro-level factors on social entrepreneurship as well as the study’s limitations are discussed.