A mission of service: social entrepreneur as a servant leader. Issue 3 (26th June 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Petrovskaya, Irina; Mirakyan, Araksya
• Is Part Of: International journal of entrepreneurial behaviour & research. Volume 24:Issue 3(2018)
• Page Start: 755
• Page End: 767
• Publication Date: 2017-06-26
• Subjects: Russia -- Entrepreneurs -- Social entrepreneurship -- Servant leadership; Entrepreneurship -- Periodicals; Small business -- Periodicals; 338.04
• DOI: 10.1108/IJEBR-02-2016-0057
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1355-2554

Abstract

Abstract : Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to establish a conceptual link between the research domains of social entrepreneurship and servant leadership by exploring the proposition that social entrepreneurs may have specific leadership attributes that allow classifying them as servant leaders. Design/methodology/approach: Five servant leadership attributes were identified based on the literature review: altruism, humility, integrity, trust in others and empathy. In an exploratory study, these attributes were examined in a sample of 78 Russian entrepreneurs. Findings: Survey results indicate that social entrepreneurs indeed differ from traditional ones in four of the perceived servant leadership attributes: altruism, integrity, trust in others and empathy. However, no differences in humility between social and traditional entrepreneurs were found. Research limitations/implications: The limitations of this study are the sample size and the sampling technique used (targeted and snowball sampling). Another limitation is the nature of the instrument used: servant leadership attributes were measured through a self-assessment questionnaire, making it susceptible to a social desirability bias. The study contributes toward setting a future research agenda for the further studies of both social entrepreneurship and servant leadership. Originality/value: This paper introduces a conceptual connection between social entrepreneurship and servant leadership. No such study had been reported prior to this research.