An Experimental Investigation of Perceived Differences in Personality and Leadership Attributes of Social Entrepreneurs Compared to for Profit Entrepreneurs and Non-Profit Organisations Leaders

Social enterprises (SEs) strive for the fulfilment of a social mission based on an elaborated income strategy. Consequently, they are largely conceptualised as hybrid enterprises combining logics of traditional non-profit organisations (NPOs) and for-profit enterprises (FPEs). This is sound on the organisational level; however, it remains unclear to which extent the perception of SE leaders on the personal level mirrors this hybridity as previous studies are limited in scope and methodology. Our work examines perceived personality traits, work-related values, leadership styles and leader attributes of SE leaders compared to FPE and NPO leaders. Using a vignette-based, comprehensive experimental design with a sample of business students (N = 170), we find that whereas notable differences in personality and leadership comparing SE and FPE leaders exist, SE and NPO leaders were perceived as not different. Based on our findings, theoretical and practical implications are discussed.