Study Of Determinants That Influence The Sustainability Of A Social Entrepreneurial Venture

Abstract

The paper presents the major determinants (qualities of entrepreneurs) based on which sustainability of a social entrepreneurial venture could be validated. Owing to the paucity of time and restraint on physical mobility (as an offshoot of the pandemic outbreak) only six social entrepreneurs from West Bengal could be interviewed. A close ended questionnaire based on 19 determinants was designed to extract the opinions of the respondents regarding the weights he/she would place on the influence of each determinant on the sustainability of his/her social venture. Based on the individual points assigned, overall mean ranks were ascertained for each factor. It was observed that two factors persistence of the social entrepreneur with regards to her entrepreneurial objective and community participation played a more important role in the minds the respondents as factors influencing sustainability. Thereafter Friedman Fr test was conducted to understand if the influence of the determinants were same or not on the sustainability of the entrepreneurial venture. The study concludes by dovetailing two propositions- the demographic dividend of India that can be realized with the help of sustainable social entrepreneurial ventures.