The influence of personality traits in social enterprise creation: The case of Peruvian social entrepreneurs

Today, in countries such as Peru where the state remains inefficient in providing responses and solutions to the population's social problems, there is recognition of the need for responsible leaders who act ethically and contribute to the creation and maintenance of a sustainable development model. Social entrepreneurs can be considered as leaders who fit this profile, and therefore their emergence should be promoted. In Peru, despite the presence of social enterprises and entrepreneurs, a lack of knowledge of their characteristics, and the organisations they lead, prevails. Given that it is individuals who drive the entrepreneurial process (Shave & Scott, 1991), this lack of knowledge becomes a barrier to the adequate promotion of social entrepreneurship. This study seeks to remedy these shortfalls, and provide primary information to help organizations that promote social entrepreneurship to make decisions. The main objective of this research is to enhance understanding of the role of personality traits, known as the Big Five (openness, extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness and neuroticism) in the social entrepreneurship process. Specifically, we measure the extent to which these traits explain the five dimensions (social vision, sustainability, innovation, social networks, and financial returns) in which Koe Hwee Nga and Shamuganathan (2010) organised the characteristics of social entrepreneurs. According to these authors, the outlined characteristics reflect the commitment assumed by social entrepreneurs with a more comprehensive business vision. Though it is recognized that other factors influence the decision to undertake entrepreneurship, such as contextual conditions, this study centres on determining the influence of personality traits on social enterprise start-up. Therefore, this study is approached from the perspective of behaviour and entrepreneurship start-up, leaving aside the question of intentions to become an entrepreneur. The units of analysis are social entrepreneurs who have started up a social enterprise in Peru. In this study we understand social enterprise as any type of organisation that emerges with the aim of providing a solution to a given social or environmental problem that contributes to the common good, and which is financed principally by the generation of income by way of commercial transactions in the marketplace (supply of goods and services). The results show that each variable of the Big Five personality traits model is related to at least one dimension of social entrepreneurs.