Assessing Attributes of Social Entrepreneurship Across Non-Profit Organizations: Analytical Hierarchical Approach

1. Introduction

An individual with the ability to recognize a definite vision, take advantage of current variables, act creatively, and then create an organization to pursue said vision is referred to as an entrepreneur. Thus, making entrepreneurship, a pattern of creativity labeled a business (Sarri et al., 2010; Majumdar & Varadarajan, 2013). Recent efforts to define the broad term of social entrepreneurship (SE) suggest its variations depending on geographical location, relevant regulation in an area in question, and societal perspective on its role (Dato-on & Kalakay, 2016). However, (Leadbeater, 1997) defines social entrepreneurship as the practice of entrepreneurial conduct for social causes and not seeking profitability, but instead using said profits to benefit a specific group at a disadvantage.

Social entrepreneurs create frameworks to solve pressing societal issues and create welfare for civil society, generating what is referred to as social innovations (SI) that are then carried out in practice or omitted merely as ideas (Hulgård & Andersen, 2015). Social innovation value creation process is developed about social welfare, market value, and state; to reach a functioning solution model for the issue on hand (Nordic Council of Ministers, 2015). Non-governmental organizations are a type of non-profit organization; the term describes an NPO independent of governmental influence seeking to address social or political issues (Oxford University Press, 2019).

This work explores the social entrepreneurship role in NGOs alongside its relevant criteria and sub-criteria in general, focusing on the UAE context. In the current context, most Gulf countries are trying to diversify their economies and emphasize the need for entrepreneurship and NGOs; however, there is a lack of studies addressing these issues, particularly in the Gulf region (Al-Sarihi, & Mason, 2020). Besides, the UAE Government aims to be an innovative nation globally, and this strategic direction facilities the philosophy of social entrepreneurship (SE). A lack of sufficient literature identifies SE elements in NGOs generally (Espina et al., 2018) and in UAE specifically (Ashour & Hui, 2016). SE is an emerging field in the UAE and the entire Middle East, and there is excellent potential for further research (Paris, 2019).The currently available literature on a said topic only considers a few factors due to the limited relevant databases available (Kachlami et al., 2018). All of which signifies the need for this research paper.

Literature statistics in SE remain lacking in UAE; in general, data collection (Hijazi, 2014) and systematic evaluation (Majumdar & Varadarajan, 2013). Therefore, the main objectives of this work are as follows:

• 1.

  To explore the criteria and sub-criteria of social entrepreneurship related to NGOs;

  • 2.To introduce a hierarchical framework of SE using the AHP model and propose a framework of SE;

    • 3.

      To quantify factors of social entrepreneurship related to NGOs;

    • 4.

      To recommend strategies for improving SE across organizations in general and NGOs in particular.