Perceptions of social entrepreneurship among higher education students: an international perspective

Conceição  Castro; Jorge  Muñoz; Raquel  Pereira; Susana  Bernardino; Claudia  Pinto; Deolinda  Meira; Paloma  Bel; Gustavo  Lejarriaga; María José  Vañó; Mario  Radrigán; Luis  Hernández; Millán  Díaz; Luca  Gori; Paolo  Addis

doi:10.5209/reve.106901

Conceição Castro Polytechnic Institute of Porto https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1550-5867
Jorge Muñoz Université de Bretagne Occidentale; Université de Bretagne Occidentale https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7131-2130
Raquel Pereira Polytechnic Institute of Porto
Susana Bernardino Polytechnic Institute of Porto
Claudia Pinto Polytechnic Institute of Porto https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2282-0731
Deolinda Meira Polytechnic Institute of Porto https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2301-4881
Paloma Bel Complutense University of Madrid https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4178-3502
Gustavo Lejarriaga Complutense University of Madrid https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4137-1522
María José Vañó University of Valencia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9000-9572
Mario Radrigán University of Santiago Chile https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0706-8190
Luis Hernández University of Santiago Chile https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8484-841X
Millán Díaz University of Zaragoza https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7584-4473
Luca Gori Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3029-9950
Paolo Addis Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0537-5050

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5209/reve.106901

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship, students’ perceptions, higher education institutions, social economy, social innovation

Agencies: This article was written as part of the Project: EEE3S - Erasmus School for Social Entrepreneurship. N. 2023-1-FR01-KA220-HED-000166140 Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

Abstract

Social entrepreneurship refers to a field of action that proposes an innovative approach to solving social challenges. Although there are different interpretations of the concept, there is some consensus that the field of social entrepreneurship focuses on creating solutions to social problems through entrepreneurial strategies. Despite the growing recognition of the importance of social entrepreneurship in recent years, in-depth knowledge of the different dimensions of this concept remains limited, especially among younger people. This article aims to analyse higher education students' perceptions of social entrepreneurship from an international perspective. A quantitative methodology was employed through a questionnaire survey administered to students from various higher education institutions across different countries. A total of 434 valid responses were collected. The results indicate that the participants generally demonstrate an understanding of the core principles of social entrepreneurship, particularly its role in addressing social and environmental challenges through innovative and sustainable approaches. However, some misconceptions persist, with a proportion of students perceiving social enterprises as profit-driven businesses similar to traditional enterprises. The results also highlight the role of education in shaping students’ perceptions, as those with entrepreneurship training were more likely to accurately distinguish some distinctive characteristics of social entrepreneurship from conventional business models. These findings underscore the importance of integrating social entrepreneurship education into higher education curricula to enhance students' understanding and encourage greater engagement in entrepreneurial initiatives with a social impact.

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