The Journey to social entrepreneurship: profile analysis of social enterprises in Morocco

Abstract

Social entrepreneurship is a topic of much debate in the academic environment. Much recent research has highlighted the supporting role of social entrepreneurs in solving social problems that public sectors and business environments have demonstrated their incapacity to solve. However, the identification of the social enterprise’s characteristics in emerging countries has not yet been thoroughly examined. This article focuses on social enterprises; its aim is to identify the profile of social enterprises in the Moroccan context. Beyond the motivations and passions that drive social entrepreneurs in their quest to create value, we highlight the different characteristics of social enterprises in a developing country. The research question is: What are the characteristics of Moroccan social enterprises? In order to answer the study’s main objective and research question, an approach based on an exploratory quantitative study was adopted with 37 Moroccan social entrepreneurs. This article revealed specific challenges faced by Moroccan social enterprises which aim to achieve economic and social performance. The results made it possible to discuss two essential points: the need to create a legal status for social enterprises and the nature of the process mobilized in the creation of social enterprises. Considering the limitations and future research directions, this article opens the way to clarify a growing ambiguity of the Moroccan social enterprise, but it does not represent in any way a complete and definitive identification of the Moroccan social enterprise’s profile. Rather, it represents a first step towards more profound and effective research on social enterprises in Morocco.

JEL classification :  L31, L53, M13

Paper type: Empirical research