The Appeal of Social Accelerators: What Do Social Entrepreneurs Value?

Abstract

Are the most-publicized benefits of social accelerators also the ones most valued by social entrepreneurs? Does the social entrepreneur human capital – such as education, professional background, and experience – shape the attractiveness of value propositions of different social accelerator benefits? These important questions are examined in this study by drawing upon a large and unique database of more than 4,000 social entrepreneurs worldwide who have applied to social accelerator programs. Study findings are of value not only to social entrepreneurship scholars but also to social entrepreneurs, social accelerators, funders of accelerators, and other entities in the social entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Keywords: social accelerator, social entrepreneur, value proposition, population ecology, sponsorship, human capital

JEL Classification: L31, L26