Incentive Factors for Social Entrepreneurship Adoption Based on Diffusion of Innovation Theory

The paper analyzes the manner in which the Diffusion of Innovation Theory can be used in the adoption of social entrepreneurship as an innovative form of entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurship is an innovative concept, which relies on the development of an innovative idea meant to answer a social problem identified by the social entrepreneur. Based on the theoretical framework developed in order to determine the factors influencing the acceptance and diffusion of innovation, there have been drafted assumptions for making a model based on the Diffusion of Innovation Theory so as to determine the factors with a decisive role in an individual’s decision to become a social entrepreneur. The personality traits of a social entrepreneur positively impact innovation, and communication and collaboration between social enterprises lead to the development of associations and collective social economy structures. The social entrepreneur as an individual, but also the collective efforts of the members of the developed social businesses, contribute to innovation in social enterprises. With the purpose of innovating the entrepreneurial process, but also of continuously improving its competitive advantage, it is important to encourage the social entrepreneurial culture and to further participative management.