View of SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS AND THEIR WORKING STYLES: A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE COMPETENCIES INFLUENCING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS TO ACHIEVE SOCIAL MISSION WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SOUTHERN RAJASTHAN

(1)

VAOLUME: 09, Special Issue 06, (IMC-RMSPE-2022) Paper id-IJIERM-IX-VI, August 2022 13

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS AND THEIR WORKING STYLES: A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE COMPETENCIES INFLUENCING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS TO ACHIEVE SOCIAL

MISSION WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SOUTHERN RAJASTHAN Dr. Preeti Malani

Research Scholar, Dept. of Business Administration, MLSU, Udaipur Dr. (Prof.) Deepti Bhargava

Principal, Shrinathji Institute of Biotechnology & Management, Nathdwara, Rajsamand Abstract - Nowadays, our society is facing lots of social and economic crises which can be more effectively seen as increasing unemployment, poverty, low level of living standard, poor healthcare services, use of renewable energy resources, pollution etc. To deal with these issues Social Entrepreneurs and their solution-oriented work can be proved as an effective tool. In Southern Rajasthan which covers its major part with the Tribal Regions, gives a challenging task to the Social Entrepreneurs to resolve such issues. The focus areas, working styles of the social entrepreneurs may vary from region to region. The present study showcases the different working style of Social Entrepreneurs and competencies which influences social entrepreneurs in achieving social mission. The study has been conducted on the 26 Social Entrepreneurs of the different parts of Southern Rajasthan.

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurs, Working Style, Competencies, Influences etc.

1 INTRODUCTION

In the existing era of heavy industrialization and rapid economic growth, societal benefits have taken next seat or even out of the sight from all over the world, including India. Today, the world is faced with numerous social challenges in terms of economy, society and the environment which can be resolved by the combined efforts of Government, NGOs, SHGs and Social Entrepreneurs. Social Entrepreneurs and their solution-oriented work are devoted for the betterment of all. Education, employment, skill development, income, living standard, affordability of food, house & healthcare services, use of renewable sources, sanitation, poverty alleviation, globally relevant issues such as: access of water, promoting small businesses creation and waste management etc. are the most pressing problems on which social entrepreneurs are working. They are problem-solvers for the marginalized groups.

As Southern Rajasthan is full of tribal communities, we need them for their creative solutions to the social problems. We need them for their collaborative nature, using their change making skills and command over the individual, institutional and societal mindsets for solving the societal issues.

Although the social entrepreneurs are addressing many societal issues successfully.

Existing literatures have more focused on elaborating the significance of entrepreneurial and business skills/ strategies/competencies for the social entrepreneurs to become successful and explaining the benefits of social entrepreneurship, how they are bringing the societal transformation and the competencies that influencing the working style of Social Entrepreneurs towards achieving their social mission. The purpose of this research is not to construct a fresh theory, but to investigate the research questions and fulfill research objectives based on empirical research and primary data.

2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Clark (2019) identified the facilitating factors for social entrepreneurs are, for creating social value believe the use of entrepreneurial approach; thirst for solving the social issues globally and to create a better place for living in the world; passion to work for other’s benefit; aim to bridge the gap between the haves and have nots, to make something unique and to empower communities for the development of their own.

Abhi (2017) tested the hypothesis that Entrepreneurial Ventures and Social Entrepreneurial Ventures are two different forms of businesses with diverse nature, working for achieving different results. Social Entrepreneurial Ventures can create social and economic values, social impact in terms of its numerous customers and economic impact in terms of its sales turnover, both are positive signs. By concluding authors states

(2)

Social Entrepreneurial Ventures are marching along Entrepreneurial Ventures and not straggling behind.

Gillian et al. (2017) defined the concept of social entrepreneurship as a multidimensional paradigm which involves expressing righteous entrepreneurially behaviour for achieving the social mission, a comprehensive unit of mission and action towards moral complexity, the capability to know social value generating opportunities and decision-making features of innovativeness, pro-activeness and risk‐taking.

Lichtand Siegel (2016) used a unifying framework based on institutional economics, in combination with teachings from cross-cultural psychology, to consider the social dimensions of entrepreneurship. The patterns and types of entrepreneurial activity are affected by the neighboring culture and by legal rules. Entrepreneurs may partially overcome institutional deficits by relying on social networks that enable reputational bonding as a means for resource-sharing.

Peter (2016) aimed to identify social enterprise sustainability by comparing recent international researches to find out the significant factors which facilitate social enterprise development. The findings support prior researches and revealed that finding resources, collaborative networks, organizational capabilities and lawfulness are the influential factors for the success of social enterprises. However, the research updates the recent knowledge by illuminating a predominant direction of growth which is the dominating factor for sustainability of the ventures in strategic management. The paper conveys new understandings for the strategic direction of social ventures which benefits the policy makers and practitioners.

Swissnex India Consulate General of Switzerland (2015) Numbers of opportunities are available for social entrepreneurs and other social stakeholders from Switzerland in India. India’s social entrepreneurship bionetwork is one of the most sophisticated in the world, giving various prospects to connect with local partners, to learn and to pursue innovative solutions for India’s several social challenges in the fields of education, renewable energy, manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare and skills development. To become successful in India, a strong support system of local and international partners is required. The report explains various support categories and provides reader a detailed list of the most important support institutions.

Garima (2015) took the present study into account disparate of successful social entrepreneurs across all over the India on the basis of primary and secondary data available from different sources. The conclusion drawn by the paper is that higher education plays an important role in the creation, transformation and success of social entrepreneurs but it is not the only factor. The study limits itself to a few numbers of social entrepreneurs due to the lack of data as well as time and there is a scope for future research.

Zaeri (2014) brief out the factors determining the human capital, natural capital, social capital, financial capital & physical capital. It was described that the successful social entrepreneurs use their own capabilities or human capital which is acquired through training & education along with the other capitals.

Wronka (2013) emphasized on the increasing interest in social entrepreneurship with reference to social economy. The key objective of this paper is to find out the CSFs of the social enterprises offering their services in Poland. The study demonstrates 10 variables as the contributing variables for the success of social enterprises: strong leadership;

inspiration and commitment of the employees; enabling legal/regulatory environment;

knowledge about the innovative concept and attractiveness; management expertise;

significant qualities for the front line service delivery; collaborative nature with the public sector; social capital; local community involvement; accurate financial record keeping and its allocation.

Lehner and Germak (2013) identified characteristics and skills of social entrepreneurs by the authors are their attentiveness and commitment towards social cause, perseverance against challenges, innovation and creativity, stubbornness, determination, effective use of resources, risk taking, self-confidence, communication skills, skilled in building team work and network, optimism, liable and trustworthy. The competencies

(3)

found are opportunity competency, conceptual competency, strategic competency, creative competency, commitment competency, leading competency and relationship competency.

Gumaste (2010) made an effort to provide a comprehensive list of factors that illuminate success in social entrepreneurship. It defines social entrepreneurial success consist in 3 different parts: 1) by making social impact, 2) to ensure employment and survival, and 3) generate ability to grow, develop, and progress. On the basis of previously available literature in the field, a list of criteria which is likely to be responsible for the success is compiled, by compiling different groups of criteria associated with each of the three parts of the definition. The associated factors with the first part are: 1) Availability of Demonstrated Need and Distinguishable Group of Beneficiaries, 2) Defined & Measured Impact, 3) No. of Beneficiaries. The factors related to the second part are: 1) Community Acceptance & Beneficiaries Involvement, 2) Social Funds, 3) Appropriate Level of Embeddedness, 4) Sound & Reliable Sources of Funding, 5) Leadership Team Commitment, 6) Pertinent Work Experience, 7) Well-Defined Responsibilities with Organized Structure.

The factors which are related with the third part are: 1) Emphasizing on Learning &

Enhancement, 2) Longterm support with others, 3) Initiating towards Expansion & Growth.

2.1 Research Gap:

 Researchers were limited on: defining the social entrepreneurs, narrating the life and the achievement of Indian social entrepreneurs(in the form of case studies); explaining the benefits of social entrepreneurship via transformation in the society by offering various services; elucidating types and models of social entrepreneurship; challenges faced by the social entrepreneurs; emergence of social entrepreneurship in India;

strategies for promoting social entrepreneurship in India; factors affecting the progress of social entrepreneurs, fulfillment of the social responsibilities etc.

 There is a need to identify the competencies that influences the working style of social entrepreneurs with special reference to Southern Rajasthan.

2.2 Aims & Objectives:

1. To understand the socio-demographic profile of Social Entrepreneurs.

2. To analyze the existing social entrepreneurs on the basis of legal structure and working style.

3. To identify the various sectors in which they are offering their services in Southern Rajasthan.

4. To identify the competencies influencing the working style of social entrepreneurs towards achieving their Social Mission.

3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The current paper has applied the Exploratory as well as Descriptive Research Approach.

Sample Size is selected as 26 Social Entrepreneurs who are actively offering their services in Southern Rajasthan. Snowball Convenience Sampling method has been adopted to collect the samples. Secondary data has been collected from books, economic survey reports, journals, newspapers, reports of non-government organizations (NGOs), NGOs list etc. An interview schedule has been used as Data Collection Tool for collecting the information from Social Entrepreneurs.

3.1 Data Reliability Test:

For testing the data reliability, the prepared questionnaire for Interview Schedule has been tested with the Cronbach’s alpha which represent the reliability of Interview Schedule is 0.897>0.70, hence we can say that the data is reliable.

(4)

VAOLUME: 09, Special Issue 06, (IMC-RMSPE-2022) Paper id-IJIERM-IX-VI, August 2022 16 3.2 Data Analysis & Interpretation:

DEMOGRAPHICAL PROFILE OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS A) Age Wise Distribution of Social Entrepreneurs

The above distribution of the social entrepreneur revealed that out of selected 26 social entrepreneurs the 42.3 percent were above the age of 45 years which clarifies that the well experienced social entrepreneurs were selected for the study and they understands the importance of the study.

B) Gender Wise Distribution of Social Entrepreneurs

The above distribution of the social entrepreneur revealed that out of 26 social entrepreneurs the 65.4 percent were male, and 34.6 Percent were female. This distribution revealed that the maximum respondents were Male, hence it can be said that they are dominated in developing the social entrepreneurial venture.

C) Qualification Wise Distribution of Social Entrepreneurs

The above distribution of the social entrepreneur revealed that out of 26 social entrepreneurs the 42.3 percent were educated up to post graduate, followed by the graduate and secondary, senior secondary. This distribution revealed that the maximum qualification of the social entrepreneur selected were post-graduate and professionals so we can say that the data has been collected from the well qualified and understanding social entrepreneurs.

(5)

4 ANALYZING THE WORKING PATTERN, STYLE AND TYPES OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS

A) Legal Structure of Social Entrepreneurial Venture

The above distribution revealed that all the social ventures were registered and the maximum social entrepreneurs were registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 or Rajasthan Societies Act, 1958. Therefore, we can say that still the for- profit ventures are less in number as compared to not for profit ventures and there is not a specific registration act is available especially for the registration of social entrepreneurial ventures.

B) Beneficiary Peers or Groups

The above distribution of the social entrepreneur revealed that out of 26 social entrepreneurial ventures the maximum 19.23 percent social entrepreneurial ventures are established for the mission to serve tribal community, followed by 15.38 percent social entrepreneurs established to serve women and the same percent of social entrepreneurs are serving to the children as well. Thus, the study shows that social entrepreneurs are working for the upliftment of all the underprivileged sections of the society. From all the underprivileged sections, tribal communities are still facing lots of problems and their development will help us in achieving the overall development of the society.

C) Working Sectors/Areas for Primary Services

(6)

The above distribution of the social entrepreneur revealed that the primary area of offering their services is having very wide services includes in it. The maximum 26.92 percent social entrepreneurs are working in the field of healthcare & sanitation services, followed by 19.23 percent of the social entrepreneurs are working for the welfare of the tribal community. 3 groups of 11.54 percent of social entrepreneurs under each group are working in the field of rural development, skill development & education and 2 groups of 7.69 percent each are working in the field of environment protection & women empowerment. Remaining 3.85 percent is working in the field of solar technology.

Researcher has found few more services which are included in the above-mentioned categories such as agriculture microfinance, high & clean technology related services, rain water harvesting, environment protection, child right, infrastructure development waste management, preventing migration, organizing the unorganized communities etc. Overall, they are working in each and every field and offering their services so that large number of populations can be benefitted.

D) Operating Way of Social Venture

The above distribution of the social entrepreneur revealed that the way of their operations is classified into six categories i.e. manufacturing & sales, business & entrepreneurship development, education & skill development, financial support, employment and others.

The maximum 30.77 percent social entrepreneur revealed that their area of operations are manufacturing & sales, followed by 26.92 percent are operating their ventures with the help of financial support and 23.08 percent are operating in business & entrepreneurship development. Minimum 19.23 percent are operating their ventures by education & skill development. It can be said that mainly social entrepreneurs are operating their businesses in a way of generating more and more employment so that an income source is available to the deprived section and they can also contribute in the economic development of the nation.

5 COMPETENCIES TO ACHIEVE SOCIAL MISSION OVER WORKING STYLE OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS

H0(b): The attributes predicting competencies to achieve their social mission have insignificantly influence on working style of social entrepreneurs.

To identify key variables in working style of social entrepreneur multivariate regression analysis has been used with SPSS-19 software and results are shown in table as under:

(7)

VAOLUME: 09, Special Issue 06, (IMC-RMSPE-2022) Paper id-IJIERM-IX-VI, August 2022 19 Table Multiple regression analysis

Correlations

(8)

(9)

(10)

VAOLUME: 09, Special Issue 06, (IMC-RMSPE-2022) Paper id-IJIERM-IX-VI, August 2022 22 The regression results show that:

Adjusted R square= 46.6 percent Dependent Variable= Imp_Econ_stat

Predictors= Competency_4, Competency_5, Competency_1 Model fit ANOVA=9.158

Significant=.000d

Result: Model is fit to predict future.

As per the above result points it can be revealed that the above hypothesis is rejected as three variables Competency_4, Competency_5, Competency_1 i.e. they are having thorough knowledge about the social need, they work with others stakeholders (Govt., Corporates, Institutions, local panchayat, local citizen organization etc.) and they have linked people with the systems (Government, Corporates and Institutions etc.) are significantly predicting the competencies to achieve their social mission that influencing

(11)

working style of the social entrepreneurs. These competencies can be move forward for achieving the social mission of the SEs in the future but rest of the competencies such as having good relationship with the beneficiaries, capacity building of beneficiaries through training programs, empowering them towards their right etc. are helpful in achieving the social mission in the current scenario, in the long run it may not be work.

6 SUMMARY & CONCLUSION

As a pulsating view of the country, eager to breaking the wall of social injustice and disparity, backwardness and scarcity, social entrepreneurs are recognized with a new legal business entity and offered a separate set of compliance and financial mechanism. In this research study, the research work has been concluded with the major findings. Social Entrepreneurs are the individuals involved in innovative and financially sustainable activities targeted to achieve their social mission. However, there commercial activities do not necessarily require to accord with the social mission; rather, their purpose is to manage financial resources to fulfil social objectives.

Social Entrepreneurs possess competencies that played an important role to gain people’s acceptance and participation to achieve your social mission. They are having thorough knowledge about the social need and are able to establish good relationship with the beneficiaries and with local communities. They have capabilities to work with others stakeholders (Govt., Corporates, Institutions, local panchayat, local citizen organization etc.) and have linked people with the systems (Government, Corporates and Institutions etc.). Survey result also showed that social entrepreneurs raised awareness on issue among the beneficiaries and convinced the beneficiaries with the help of the panchayat. They also have built capacity of beneficiaries through training programmes and empowered beneficiaries to fight for their rights. They have clearly developed a plan towards achieving their social mission, and also assessing work regularly by involving beneficiaries and improving the service delivery.

Social Entrepreneurs work as the change agents for the community, holding opportunities in which other fails to improve system, generate solutions to transform society and invent new approaches which helps in achieving their social mission.

REFERENCES

1. Abhi, S. (2017). Can Social Entrepreneurs Do Well by Doing Good? Blending Social and Economic Value Creation - An Investigation. Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal, 23(2).

2. Clark, M. (2009). The social entrepreneur revolution: doing good by making money, making money by doing good. Saffron Hill: Landon: Marshall Cavendish Limited.

3. Garima. (2015, November). Successful social entrepreneurship in India: Does higher education matters?

International Journal of Commerce and Business Management, 8(2), 274-279.

4. Gillian Sullivan Mort, J. W. (2017). Social entrepreneurship: towards conceptualisation. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing banner.

5. Gumaste, V. A. (2010). Determining The Criteria For Success In Social Ventures: A Case Study Of Social Entrepreneurship. Durham, Nc: Sanford School Of Public Policy.

6. Lehner, O. M., & Germak, A. J. (2013). The Need for Achievement (and Other Antecedents) as Drivers of Social Entrepreneurship. 10th NYU Stern Conference on Social Entrepreneurship, NYU, New York.

7. Licht, A. N., & Siegel, J. I. (2016). The Social Dimensions of Entrepreneurship. In M. C. Yeung, Oxford Handbook Of Entrepreneurship. Oxford University Press.

8. Peter, J. (2016). Social enterprise sustainability revisited: an international perspective. Social Enterprise Journal, 12(1), 42-60.

9. Swissnex India Consulate General of Switzerland. (2015). Social Entreprenurship in India.

10. Wronka, M. (2013). Analyzing The Success Of Social Enterprises - Critical Success Factors Perspective.

Management, Knowledge & Learning International Conference 2013, (pp. 593-605). Zadar, Croatia.

11. Zaeri, M. (2014). A Theoretical Study of Social Entrepreneurship. Journal of Asia Entrepreneurship and Sustainability, 10(1), 120-149.