Ronit Yitshaki

How Do Entrepreneurs' Emotional Intelligence and Transformational Leadership Orientation Impact New Ventures' Growth?*

Abstract This study examines the interrelations between entrepreneurs’ emotional intelligence (EI), transformational leadership behaviors and growth. Based on data collected from 99 entrepreneurial firms, the findings show that entrepreneurs’ EI has an indirect impact on growth. Entrepreneurs’ EI is positively related to entrepreneurs’ intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration and entrepreneurs’ charismatic inspirational behaviors. However, only entrepreneurs’ charismatic-inspirational behaviors impact growth. The findings extend the literature by suggesting that entrepreneurs’ EI is a “latent” emotional capability that impacts their transformational leadership orientation. It is also suggested that by employing charismatic-inspirational behaviors, entrepreneurs’ demonstrate their ability to enlist and manage followers’ emotions and hence influence growth.

Becoming a social entrepreneur: understanding motivations using life story analysis

Using the life story method, 18 social bricoleurs (small scale social entrepreneurs) from eight countries were interviewed to identify motivations in becoming social entrepreneurs. Motivations included pull factors, such as an awareness of social injustice, and push factors, such as job dissatisfaction. Analysis indicates that social bricoleur motivations are similar in different cultures. When referring to the present or future, many social entrepreneurs seek scalability, i.e., an expansion of their vision and actions evolving from small scale organisations to larger organisations that serve multiple populations and needs.

The Path of the Social Entrepreneur: A Narrative Analysis Approach

Social bricoleurs are typically small-scale local social entrepreneurs who focus on unmet social needs for disadvantaged groups that have limited capacity to help themselves. Little is known about the motivations social entrepreneurs who are important change agents in solving social problems. The changing role of government in solving social problems and the subsequent expansive growth of social entrepreneurship creates the need for a better understanding of the characteristics and motivations of social entrepreneurs. A better understanding of the motivations and processes of social entrepreneurs can facilitate their effectiveness in solving social problems.

The role of social entrepreneurs’ compassion and identity in shaping opportunity recognition

This study answers calls to examine the role of compassion and prosocial behavior (Miller et al, 2012), and opportunity recognition (OR) as process of interaction between entrepreneurs and their communities (Shepherd, 2015). Based on 32 life-story interviews social entrepreneurs, we develop a data-driven process model to explain the relations between compassion, identities, and OR. Compassion is an antecedent of OR. Empathy and sympathy provide different motivations for prosocial behavior. Founder’s identity is related to compassion and OR based on affective-cognitive structural alignment. Study findings extend the theory on compassion as a motivational antecedent of prosocial behavior.