The influence of social entrepreneurship orientation and competitive advantage on the performance of rural social enterprises

The development gap between urban and rural areas is a concern in many countries, including Indonesia. Currently, the government has introduced rural businesses to overcome this problem. This study aims to analyze the effect of social entrepreneurship on the performance of rural social entrepreneurs and test competitive advantage as a mediator. The population includes village-owned enterprises in Riau Province, Indonesia; the sample was stratified randomly. Village-owned enterprises are distributed based on classification, namely basic, growing, developing, and advanced. Respondents are managers of village-owned enterprises. Each village received five questionnaires, and 399 company managers decided to join the survey. The study employed structural equation modeling partial least squares to prove that competitive advantage influences organizational performance with a p-value of 0.000 < 0.05. Social entrepreneurial orientation influences competitive advantage and company performance with a p-value of 0.000. Competitive advantage is proven to mediate the relationship between social entrepreneurial orientation and performance, with a p-value of 0.000. The research results stress the importance of social entrepreneurship in improving company performance in rural areas. For this reason, the government should provide high-quality social entrepreneurship training.