Navigating Social and Institutional Barriers to Markets: How Social Entrepreneurs Identify and Evaluate Opportunities

Abstract

Entrepreneurship research can be broadly placed into three categories: that which examines the people (entrepreneurs); that which examines the process and that which examines the entrepreneurial or business opportunities. This chapter specifically looks at social entrepreneurial opportunities and the process of identifying and evaluating these types of opportunities. I address three important questions:What makes social entrepreneurial opportunities different from other types of opportunities?What makes social entrepreneurship special?How do social entrepreneurs find social entrepreneurial opportunities?