Venturing for Others with Heart and Head: How Compassion Encourages Social Entrepreneurship

Academy of Management Review, Vol. 37, Issue 4, 2012, pp. 616-640

University of Alberta School of Business Research Paper No. 2013-551

Posted: 6 Apr 2014

See all articles by Toyah Miller

Toyah Miller

Indiana University - Kelley School of Business - Management & Entrepreneurship

Matthew Grimes

University of Cambridge - Cambridge Judge Business School

Jeffery S. McMullen

Indiana University - Kelley School of Business - Management & Entrepreneurship

Timothy J. Vogus

Vanderbilt University - Organizational Behavior

Date Written: October 1, 2011

Abstract

Social entrepreneurship has emerged as a complex yet promising organizational form in which market-based methods are used to address seemingly intractable social issues, but its motivations remain undertheorized. Research asserts that compassion may supplement traditional self-oriented motivations in encouraging social entrepreneurship. We draw on research on compassion and prosocial motivation to build a model of three mechanisms (integrative thinking, prosocial cost-benefit analysis, and commitment to alleviating others' suffering) that transform compassion into social entrepreneurship, and we identify the institutional conditions under which they are most likely to do so. We conclude by discussing the model's contribution to and implications for the positive organizational scholarship literature, entrepreneurship literature, and social entrepreneurship literature.

Suggested Citation

Miller, Toyah and Grimes, Matthew and McMullen, Jeff and Vogus, Timothy J., Venturing for Others with Heart and Head: How Compassion Encourages Social Entrepreneurship (October 1, 2011). Academy of Management Review, Vol. 37, Issue 4, 2012, pp. 616-640, University of Alberta School of Business Research Paper No. 2013-551, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2276073

Toyah Miller (Contact Author)

Indiana University - Kelley School of Business - Management & Entrepreneurship ( email )

Bloomington, IN 47405
United States

Matthew Grimes

University of Cambridge - Cambridge Judge Business School ( email )

Trumpington St.
Cambridge, CB21AG
United Kingdom

Jeff McMullen

Indiana University - Kelley School of Business - Management & Entrepreneurship ( email )

Bloomington, IN 47405
United States

Timothy J. Vogus

Vanderbilt University - Organizational Behavior ( email )

Nashville, TN 37203
United States

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