Given that social enterprises struggle to operate entrepreneurial activities along with social and regulatory obligations where institutional pressures are prevalent, this study aims to identify the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and social enterprise performance (SEP). It also investigates the moderating effect of mimetic and coercive isomorphisms and the mediating impact of social innovation (SI) and strategic flexibility.
The authors draw on survey data from a sample of 200 social enterprises sampled from a list of registered enterprises provided by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Red Crescent Authority to understand the effects of EO on SEP in terms of its socioeconomic and regulatory context.
This study found that EO positively influences SEP and SI and strategic flexibility represent important mediating roles. The study also showed that coercive isomorphism and mimetic isomorphism moderate the association between EO and the performance of social enterprises.
The study has some limitations, including the utilization of cross-sectional data, which hinders causal examinations and longitudinal understanding of the relationship between EO, SI and performance and the focus on the UAE context, which hampers generalizability. Furthermore, the measurement used self-reported data, which may have related bias.
The practical implication from this study is that policymakers and social entrepreneurs should foster entrepreneurial initiative, SI and institutional isomorphism to enhance SEP.
Among the variables under consideration in this study, this paper focuses on the effect of EO on the performance of social enterprises with a spotlight on innovation and strategic flexibility. Thus, showing how EO produces a positive impact on socioeconomic issues in the UAE makes a contribution to practice that can help policymakers and social entrepreneurs to start up sustainable businesses. The findings of this study add credence to entrepreneurial practices and initiatives that aim to improve institutional settings for the benefit of society and financial sustainability.
This research is novel in one particular way: It uses both the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities frameworks in investigating the interdependencies among EO, SI and strategic flexibility in SEP. It also describes the moderating roles of coercive and mimetic isomorphic pressures, which were previously missing in earlier research, and presents an empirically important regionally relevant case study based on a high-impact area of the UAE, an underexamined emerging market in EO and social enterprise research. Together, these contribute to the theoretical and contextual originality of the research.
