Towards social wealth in Malta : the role of social entrepreneurship

Abstract

The definition of social entrepreneurship is still elusive. Nonetheless, most scholars agree that social entrepreneurs are driven by a desire to create social wealth. Research investigating the pursuit of social wealth and social value creation by entrepreneurs, and the methods or approaches taken to capture social impact through assessments, is limited in the literature, especially within a Maltese context. This dissertation aims to gain insight into the role of social entrepreneurship in fostering social wealth in Malta. Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were carried out with ten key decision-makers within social enterprises. This was followed by a thematic analysis of the findings. The findings suggest that social wealth is being created through the social issues the entrepreneurs are addressing, their social mission orientation and their role as social innovators. The interviews also revealed that overall, social impact assessment is not carried out for various reasons including the lack of time and resources, the difficulty of measuring social value, the size of the organisations and the lack of formal requirements for such measures. The findings also yielded insight into the socio-cultural context that the organisations are embedded in. Social enterprises are not legally recognized and the public are not fully aware of what they are. This legal uncertainty is seen as a barrier towards the development, sustainability and growth of the social entrepreneurship. Another key factor was the pervasive mentality of finding solutions to social issues through charity rather than entrepreneurial undertakings. Some of the respondents have taken advantage of this mentality and used it as a key element within their business model. The study concluded that there is scope for the social entrepreneurship sector to be recognized and advanced within a competitive economy. The noteworthy characteristics of social enterprises in addressing unexplored or ignored societal needs, providing innovative, effective and efficient solutions, and serving the ever-increasing number of discerning customers who expect entrepreneurial activities to give back to society, should be supported. Understanding how social enterprises can be impactful would enable them to improve their performance and achieve their objectives as well serve as a beacon to new sectors and niches within the economy.