This study aims to identify and analyze the factors influencing social entrepreneurship in emerging destinations and to examine the relationships among these factors based on Isenberg's entrepreneurial ecosystem framework.
The research adopts a mixed-methods approach. First, factors were identified across six ecosystem dimensions through expert interviews. Then, the factors were refined using the fuzzy Delphi method. Finally, the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method was applied to analyze the relationships within the ecosystem structure.
The findings show that the institutional and social factors – government support, incentive policies, social capital, human capital, and communication – serve as the main drivers, while market, finance, innovation, and tourism infrastructure are primarily outcomes of ecosystem interactions.
The results indicate that social entrepreneurship in such contexts emerges through processes of empowerment, collective learning, and institutional governance.
The role of social and institutional factors in fostering social entrepreneurship and inclusive development is highlighted.
This study provides the first systematic examination of the factors affecting social entrepreneurship in tourism and offers new insights into their interactions.
