University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh UNIVERSITY OF GHANA ASSESSING THE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN GHANA BY ABDALLAH ABDUL-RAHAMAN (10550792) THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MPHIL IN MARKETING DEGREE JUNE 2017 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DECLARATION I do hereby declare that this work is the result of my own research and has not been presented by anyone for any academic award in this or any other university. All references used in my work have been dully acknowledged. I bear sole responsibility for any shortcomings. ………………………………………… ………………………………… ABDALLAH ABDUL-RAHAMAN DATE (10550792) ii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CERTIFICATION We hereby certify that this thesis was supervised in accordance with procedures laid down by the university. ……………………….. …………………… DR. KWAME ADOM DATE SUPERVISOR ……………………… …………………… DR. DANIEL QUAYE DATE CO-SUPERVISOR iii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DEDICATION I humbly dedicate this thesis to my lovely wife, Hikmatu Tahiru and my adorable children, Khair Sahah, Afaf Kasy and Iffat Katary. iv University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGMENT A very big thank you goes to my able supervisors, Dr. Kwame Adom and Dr. Daniel Quaye for their directions and supervisory support. My appreciation also goes to Ibn Kailan Abdul-Hamid for his countless support. A thank you to Suale Karimu for the consultations and directions given towards this thesis at the initial stages of the work. I also acknowledge all the contributions from the defence panel that have reshaped this work. My appreciation goes to the team at SE Ghana Limited most especially Dr. Gordon Adomdza of Ashesi University for providing us with the list of SEs in Ghana that made the data collection possible. Thank you to Nadia of Sta Africa, Amin of Zaacoal, Godson of Yep Ghana, Akosua of Treasure Kids and Samuel of Samalex Solutions for making time out of their tight schedules to grant the interviews towards the data collections for this thesis. v University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh LIST OF TABLES Table 5.1 Summary of influencing factors ……………………………………89 vi University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Social cognitive theory bidirectional illustration…..………………….31 vii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ABBREVIATIONS B, E, P Behaviour, Environment, Person CSR Corporate Social Responsibility GDP Gross Domestic Product PEST Political Economic Social and Technological S E Social Enterprise SDGs Sustainable Development Goals USA United States of America viii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh TABLE OF CONTENT DECLARATION .............................................................................................................. ii CERTIFICATION ........................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENT .................................................................................................. v LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ vii ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................ viii TABLE OF CONTENT ................................................................................................... ix ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................... 1 1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background of the Study ....................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem ....................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Research Objectives ............................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Research Questions ................................................................................................................ 6 1.5 Significance of the Study ....................................................................................................... 7 1.6 Scope of the Study ................................................................................................................. 9 1.7 Organization of the Study ...................................................................................................... 9 1.8 Chapter summary ................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................ 10 LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................................. 10 2.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 10 2.1 Social Entrepreneurship: An Overview ............................................................................... 10 2.1.1 Defining Social Entrepreneurship .................................................................................................. 11 2.1.2 Understanding the Scope of Social Entrepreneurship ............................................................. 12 2.1.2.1 Social Entrepreneur ......................................................................................................................... 13 2.1.2.2 Social Enterprises ............................................................................................................................ 13 2.1.2.3 Social Entrepreneurship versus Commercial Entrepreneurship........................................ 14 2.1.2.4 Social Entrepreneurship versus Not-For –Profit Organizations ....................................... 15 2.1.2.5 Social Entrepreneurship versus Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ....................... 16 2.1.3 Social Entrepreneurship Concept ................................................................................................... 17 ix University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.2 Social Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century ................................................................................... 19 2.3 Social Entrepreneurship in the Global Context ............................................................................. 20 2.4 Social entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan African Context ................................................... 21 2.5 Social Entrepreneurship in Ghana........................................................................................ 23 2.6 Analytical / Theoretical Framework .................................................................................... 24 2.6.1 Social Entrepreneurship and the PEST Factors ......................................................................... 26 2.6.2 Social Cognitive Theory ................................................................................................................... 28 2.7 Empirical Literature ............................................................................................................. 31 2.8 Chapter summary ................................................................................................................. 34 CHAPTER THREE ........................................................................................................ 36 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY ........................................................................................ 36 3.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 36 3.1 A Brief about Ghana ............................................................................................................ 36 3.2 Origin of Social Entrepreneurship in Ghana ........................................................................ 37 3.3 Social Entrepreneurship Landscape in Ghana ..................................................................... 38 3.4 SE Ghana ............................................................................................................................. 40 3.5 Ghana Socio-Economic Statistics ........................................................................................ 40 3.6 Chapter summary ................................................................................................................. 41 CHAPTER FOUR ........................................................................................................... 42 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .................................................................................. 42 4.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 42 4.1 Research Approach .............................................................................................................. 42 4.2 Research Design................................................................................................................... 45 4.3 Population and Sampling ..................................................................................................... 47 4.3.1 Population .............................................................................................................................................. 47 4.3.2 Sampling Design ................................................................................................................................. 47 4.3.3 Sampling Technique ........................................................................................................................... 48 4.3.4 Sample Size ........................................................................................................................................... 48 4.4 Data Sources ........................................................................................................................ 48 4.4.1 Primary Data ......................................................................................................................................... 49 4.4.2 Secondary Data .................................................................................................................................... 49 4.5 Data Collection Method and Interview Design .................................................................... 49 4.5.1 Data Collection .................................................................................................................................... 49 4.5.2 Interview Design ................................................................................................................................. 50 x University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.5.3 Conducting the Interviews ............................................................................................................... 50 4.6 Data analysis ........................................................................................................................ 51 4.7 Limitations of the Study ....................................................................................................... 52 4.8 Chapter summary ................................................................................................................. 53 CHAPTER FIVE ............................................................................................................ 54 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .................................................................................... 54 5.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 54 5.1: CASE 1: A Creative Art ..................................................................................................... 54 5.2: CASE 2: A Clean Energy Company ................................................................................... 61 5.3 CASE 3: Youth Empowerment ............................................................................................ 68 5.4: CASE 4: Education and Health .......................................................................................... 75 5.5: CASE 5: Sanitation ............................................................................................................. 81 5.6 Cross Case Analysis ............................................................................................................. 88 5.7 Chapter summary ................................................................................................................. 92 CHAPTER SIX ............................................................................................................... 93 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................. 93 6.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 93 6.1 Summary of findings............................................................................................................ 93 6.3 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 95 6.4 Contribution to Social Entrepreneurship Theory ................................................................. 97 6.5 Recommendation ................................................................................................................. 98 6.6 Implication for Policy .......................................................................................................... 98 6.7 Future Research Direction ................................................................................................. 100 REFERENCE ................................................................................................................ 101 APPENDIX .................................................................................................................... 112 xi University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ABSTRACT This study examined social entrepreneurship activities, social entrepreneurship environmental factors and the nexus of social entrepreneurship environment and social entrepreneurship activities. Five in-depth qualitative case studies provided insights on the individual perspectives on the influencing environmental factors of social entrepreneurship. The environmental factors which influence social entrepreneurship activities in Ghana are: corruption and bureaucracy, regulatory framework, tax and tariff regime, wealth distribution, infrastructure, illiteracy, and technological innovations. The study also found that technological innovations (social media) have a positive influence on social entrepreneurship in the Ghana. It was also found that the concept is an age-old phenomenon in the Ghanaian space but was not designated as such. The environment therefore has a direct impact on social entrepreneurship activities. The process of social entrepreneurship resonates with the theory of causation and thus the social cognitive theory. There is the urgent need for policy framework to govern the social entrepreneurship phenomenon. The regulatory framework of social entrepreneurship, commercial entrepreneurship as well as not-for-profit organizations needs to be effectively mapped out. xii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction This chapter includes background of the study, statement of the problem, research objectives, research questions, scope of the study, significance of the study and organisation of the study. 1.1 Background of the Study Social Entrepreneurship is a spin off from the concept of entrepreneurship, which has generated enormous debate among scholars. Social Entrepreneurship is become popular with less certainty of its constituents (Martin & Osberg, 2007). Arguments over contextual boundaries of social entrepreneurship have led to scholars proposing the need for both theoretical and practical definitions of the concept (Mair & Martí, 2006; Rivera-Santos, Holt, Littlewood, & Kolk, 2015). The concept denotes a business of fixing societal problems; providing products that meet basic human needs and reducing environmental vulnerability (Bornstein & Davis, 2010). Some individuals react to the appearance of challenges by adopting attitudes of ironic objectivity. Many respond with creativity and optimism. This results in meeting such problems or challenges with authoritative ideas. The view of abused challenges pushes the individuals to build new solutions. The individuals who overcome these obstacles for the social good are social entrepreneurs (Bornstein & Davis, 2010). Social changes are established by managing a business through the enterprise principles. 1 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The social entrepreneurship concept influences the environment and society, thus the existence of some level of influence that the environment exerts on the success of social entrepreneurship. Rivera-Santos et al., (2015), trying to establish these facts, proposed four contextual dimensions (acute poverty, informality, colonial history and ethnic group identity) as environmental factors of social entrepreneurship in sub–Saharan Africa. The sub-Saharan African environment has been very receptive to new developments on the global arena. The region has averagely high growth rates of gross domestic product (GDP) (Trading Economics, 2014) and that notwithstanding, its socio-economic problems persist. Many countries in the region have low per capita purchasing power. The Vision of Humanity (2012) and the World Bank (2014) classified seven countries from sub-Saharan Africa among the ten (10) most unequal countries in the world with high economic inequality (Rivera-Santos et al., 2015). Economically, operating a business in sub-Saharan Africa is more difficult than in any other part of the world because of bureaucracy, informality, poor infrastructure and relative cost (Rivera-Santos et al., 2015). The Education index also ranks 21 countries in sub-Saharan Africa among the bottom 30 countries (UNDP, 2009; Rivera-Santos, et al., 2015). Again, among the 30 countries with the least life expectancy, 29 of them are sub-Saharan African countries (Das & Samarasekera, 2012). A World Bank ranking also places 23 sub-Saharan African countries among the worst 30 countries with ease to doing business (World Bank, 2012). These present avenues for social entrepreneurship development in the sub-Saharan African region. 2 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Ideas associated with social entrepreneurship have infiltrated several different domains of society and kick of change within these realms (Fayolle & Matlay, 2010). The field of social entrepreneurship is creating its own system of support by inspiring its own academic and professional path as it grows. Social entrepreneurship actors are scattered around the globe and with less or no form of connectivity. Independently, many of social entrepreneurship actions seem small, but they are interrelated and mutually reinforcing; taken together, they sum up to more than the totality of their parts (Bornstein & Davis, 2010). Incorporating the environmental impact into the empirical literature of social entrepreneurship could help explain why different types of social enterprise (SEs) seem to exist around the world. This could also settle the proceeding arguments about what constitutes social entrepreneurship (Choi & Majumdar, 2014; Lehner & Kansikas, 2013). On the African continent, there is seemingly limited literature on this developing concept of social entrepreneurship. Generally, social entrepreneurship in transiting countries differs quantitatively and qualitatively from what is recognized in most industrially developed countries (Fayolle & Matlay, 2010). Social entrepreneurship in developing countries and for that matter Africa and Ghana specifically, takes a different contextual dimension as compared to developed economies. The calling of social entrepreneurship besides new business creation with a social purpose is to ameliorate social and societal needs that are yet to be addressed (Alvord, Brown & Letts, 2004; Thompson, 2002). With this inherent communal spirit and focus of social entrepreneurship, the concept cannot certainly be successful in isolation of the environment. The focus of the study will be on assessing the environmental factors of social entrepreneurship in Ghana. 3 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.2 Statement of the Problem The influence of an external environment on individuals, processes and organizations have received attention in the social entrepreneurship literature (Bacq & Janssen, 2011). Much of the current academic discussion around the nature of social entrepreneurship is occurring in USA and in Europe (Bornstein & Davis, 2010). There is the need to examine the dynamic aspects of social entrepreneurial activity from understandings, experiences and data from the developing world (Marcotte, 2014). There remain limited social entrepreneurship studies particularly in Africa (Venter & Urban, 2015), and consequently it is necessary to examine social entrepreneurship in Africa. Africa’s typical complex institutional environment, strong local and informal institutions coexisting with national formal institutions, provides a particularly apt context to study social entrepreneurship and the impact of the institutional environment (Zoogah, Peng & Woldu, 2015). Despite the importance of the environment in the success of social entrepreneurship, evidence from literature suggests that among the different pertinent dimensions that could affect social entrepreneurships, the characteristics of the environment (the atmosphere within which the venture operates) have received limited attention (Bacq & Janssen 2011; Mair & Martí, 2006). In addition, the environment generates and dictates the social needs and thus the social opportunities that entrepreneurs or their agents can pursue (Rivera- Santos et al., 2015; Santos, 2012). The environment regulates the legal recognition and the forms of SEs, with significant variations across the globe (Defourny & Nyssens, 2008). 4 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The features of the environment are most likely to influence not only the possible development of SEs, but also the features of these organizations (Defourny & Nyssens, 2008). However, literature has been porous on the environmental factors of social entrepreneurship especially in sub-Saharan Africa and Ghana specifically (Rivera-Santos et al., 2015). There are few contributions on social entrepreneurship in Africa predominantly from the Southern African Development Community, and East Africa with little contributions on West Africa (Darko & Koranteng, 2015; Littlewood & Holt; 2015; Thisted & Hansen 2014). Research suggests important differences in the prominence of social and environmental issues (Barkemeyer, Figge, & Holt, 2013). The commonness of social and environmental issues in sub-Saharan Africa, hence, echoes with Santos’ (2012) account of the circumstances in which social entrepreneurship can be expected to develop, and underpins the need to study the unique attributes of the African context. More so, De Carolis and Saparito, (2006) drawing from the social cognitive theory advanced a model that suggested that entrepreneurial behaviours were as a result of the interplay of the environment. An assessment of activity labelled as social entrepreneurship, for example, by examining the work of Ashoka or Schwab fellows, reveals that where social entrepreneurs operate affects what they do and how they do it (Fayolle & Matlay, 2010). 5 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Given this background, what are the environmental factors of social entrepreneurship in Ghana? What are the social entrepreneurship activities in Ghana? How do the environmental factors affect the concept of social entrepreneurship? And finally, how is the literature of social entrepreneurship in Ghana remarkably different from other parts of the continent, given the different environmental context. This study will attempt to answer these salient empirical questions by investigating the environmental factors of social entrepreneurship in Ghana. 1.3 Purpose and Objectives The aim of this study is to investigate the environmental factors of social entrepreneurship in Ghana. Specifically, the study seeks: 1 To identify social entrepreneurship activities in Ghana. 2 To ascertain the environmental factors in Ghana. 3 To explore the environment and social entrepreneurship nexus in Ghana. 1.4 Research Questions The study seeks to answer the following research questions. 1. What are the SE activities in Ghana? 2. What constitutes the Ghanaian Social entrepreneurship environment? 3. What ways does the business environment of Ghana influence social entrepreneurship? 6 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.5 Significance of the Study The importance of social entrepreneurship in addressing poverty and improving human living standards has been acknowledged globally. Social entrepreneurship presents one of the modern and efficient means of addressing the socio-economic challenges of low income groups. As a result of the unique contributions of social entrepreneurship to the economic development of most developing countries, several researchers have called for investigations into social entrepreneurship (Julian & Ofori-Darkwa, 2013; Rivera-Santos et al., 2015). A proper understanding of this subject will be very important for policy makers, researchers and stakeholders interested in improving human standards especially in sub-Saharan Africa. This study also provides a better understanding of social entrepreneurship for policy makers to design and implement policies that will enhance the development and operation of SEs. The study will also be very useful in guiding policy makers to be able to control the activities and direction of social entrepreneurs to achieve the desired goals and objectives. The significance of social entrepreneurship is seen in its point of difference from other forms of entrepreneurship in the relatively higher priority that is given to the promotion of social value and development as against capturing economic value (Mair & Marti, 2006). An understanding of how the environment influences on different dimensions of SEs is therefore crucial. 7 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh This study provides a specific understanding of the influence of the environment on social entrepreneurship within the Ghanaian context. The study therefore addresses the gap in the literature of social entrepreneurship in which the environment is mostly considered in isolation. The empirical literature on social entrepreneurship has mainly been on the Western world and Asia with some few scholarly attentions emanating from Africa and for that matter, Ghana. As such there have been clarion calls for extensive empirical research on social entrepreneurship within the sub-Saharan African developmental context (Julian & Ofori-Darkwa, 2013). For instance, Mangaliso (2001) and West (2014) argued that the failure to assess the impact of African cultural worldviews such as Ubuntu on social entrepreneurship give rise to the need for alternate research. This study would contribute to the better understanding of social entrepreneurship and help address the relative lack of empirical literature on social entrepreneurship in Africa and Ghana (Julian & Ofori-Darkwa, 2013; Rivera-Santos et al., 2015). Again, the few existing literature of social entrepreneurship pertaining to Africa and Ghana specifically appears too broad. This study will address this anomaly by providing a comprehensive study of the concept of social entrepreneurship with specific focus on Ghana. The study will also be very significant in contextualizing social entrepreneurship and how variations in environmental factors can influence the objectives and operations of SEs. The study will provide a developing country perspective of social entrepreneurship and contribute towards a contextual definition and dimensions of the social entrepreneurship literature. In effect, this study will add up to the few existing literature of social entrepreneurship in Ghana and 8 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Africa as a whole, improve the understanding of the subject and provoke further studies and research. 1.6 Scope of the Study This study is mainly on the environmental factors of social entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa with specific evidence from Ghana. The study focuses on social entrepreneurs in Ghana with respondents/participants from Social Entrepreneurs (SE) Ghana membership. The sector is selected because of the relative knowledge and understanding of social entrepreneurship in Ghana. 1.7 Organization of the Study The study consists of six chapters. Chapter one is the introductory chapter which comprises the background of the study, the statement of the problem, purpose and objectives, research questions as well as the significance and scope of the study. Chapter two and three presents the review of related literature and context of the study respectively. Chapter four and five presents research methodology and the findings and analysis while chapter six is the concluding chapter which includes summary of major findings and the recommendations of the study. 1.8 Chapter summary This chapter looked at the background of the social entrepreneurship concept. The chapter sets the pace for the study. The research direction is seen as the study objectives are outlined and the research questions posed. The range of the research and its significance is determined. It thus gives directions as to how the research is organized. 9 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction This chapter presents a review of related literature on social entrepreneurship. The review is organized into three sections. The first section presents an overview of Social entrepreneurship. The second and third sections present the Theoretical Literature and Empirical Literature respectively. 2.1 Social Entrepreneurship: An Overview With the cutting edge desire for corporate development and maintaining social and environmental good, the concept of social entrepreneurship is developed. Consumers are increasingly becoming socially aware and hence, the seemingly unlimited desire for environmentally friendly products and services (Weerawadena & Mort, 2006). There has also been great rivalry developed between markets and states which call for contemporary value propositions that are pro society and environment (Keohane, 2013). Business concepts thus now prioritize reducing environmental vulnerability at the same time maximizing profits. The concept is fast rising exponentially and has become a socio- economic and a cultural spectacle in recent decades (Austin, Stevenson & Wei-Skillern, 2006; Pless, 2012). There are growing expectations in businesses to address some pertinent social and environmental challenges alongside achieving their financial obligations to stakeholders. This conforms to some views of the development of social entrepreneurship from the corporate social responsibility development (Stephens, 2003). The concept of social entrepreneurship denotes the application of contemporary innovative ways of 10 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh minimizing and or finding solutions to societal and environmental challenges (Bornstein & Davis, 2010) 2.1.1 Defining Social Entrepreneurship There are excessive arguments about the definition of social entrepreneurship. So far, no universally accepted definition has been penned for the concept. Social entrepreneurship is a process of combining resources which are primarily intended to exploit opportunities to create social value through the stimulation of social change and meeting social needs (Mair & Martí, 2006). The concept as a process involves the offering of products that lead to the creation of new organizations. In addition, social entrepreneurship as a process of striving to achieve the creation of social value requires proactivity, risk management behaviour and innovation (Weerawardena & Mort, 2006). Social entrepreneurship is an embodiment of three components: (a) the discovery of a naturally unjust equilibrium which incites marginalization, exclusion and or disadvantaging of a part of the population challenged with the political, socio- economic means to attain some transformative value all by itself; (b) the process of forming a social value proposition from the opportunity identified in the natural unfair equilibrium that brings to bear courage, direct action, creativity, inspiration and fortitude that will challenge the hegemonic status quo; and finally, (c) the ability to create a substitute stable equilibrium which unearths hidden potentials that can relieve the target audience from their challenges and also fostering the development of a stable ecosystem that will ensure a better living standard for the target group and the 11 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh general society at large (Martin & Osberg, 2007). For the purpose of this study, social entrepreneurship will be defined as a “process by which citizens build or transform institutions to advance solutions to social problems, such as poverty, illness, illiteracy, environmental destruction, human rights abuses and corruption, in order to make life better for many” (Bornestein & Davies 2010). Thus all entrepreneurial activities which aim at improving the general wellbeing of the society are classified as social entrepreneurship. To this end, the success of social entrepreneurship would be seen in its usefulness or improvement rendered to the society and environment. The study explores the influence of these environmental factors could exert on the concept and the possible nexus that exist between them in the Ghanaian context. 2.1.2 Understanding the Scope of Social Entrepreneurship The concepts of social entrepreneurs, social enterprise (SE) and social entrepreneurship in some instances have been used interchangeably in some quarters; in some instances creating confusion on the subject. The concepts are distinct branches of the social entrepreneurship process. Social entrepreneurship process brings about SE creation; social entrepreneurship is automatically embodied by at least one social entrepreneur; the social entrepreneur is well engaged in social entrepreneurship; the actions of social entrepreneur is to be materialized in an organization form referred to as the SE; an SE is not permanently involved in the social entrepreneurship process as missions and objectives may change (Fayolle & Matlay, 2010; Verstraete & Fayolle, 2005). 12 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.1.2.1 Social Entrepreneur A social entrepreneur is someone who aims at a disastrous but stable equilibrium that marginalize, neglect, or cause suffering to a section of humanity; the person who brings aspiration, creativity, fortitude, courage and direct action to bear on this situation; who targets and eventually affects the creation of a new stable equilibrium that can acquire enduring benefit for the targeted audience and or society at large (Martin & Osberg, 2007). The Institute for Social Entrepreneurs, Skoll Foundation defines a social entrepreneur as a person running an SE in any sector. The Foundation ultimately defined social entrepreneurs as individuals who are also similarly focused; who tap into vast reserves of creativity, resourcefulness and ambition in the pursuit of results (Fayolle & Matlay, 2010). Social entrepreneurs seek to grow not only profits but improve human wellbeing as well. They are often motivated by altruism and a philosophical aspiration to promote growth of equity in civil societies as they develop effective, innovative, and viable means to fulfil the needs and desires of the unfit, disadvantaged, disenfranchised and marginalized members of the society (Fayolle & Matlay, 2010). Social entrepreneurs are individuals who aim at creating a social value that bring about social change by supporting individuals who hitherto would not afford solutions to their needs and desires in education, health and welfare (Leadbeater, 2006). 2.1.2.2 Social Enterprises (SEs) SEs are organizations whose purpose for existence is not to maximize financial returns to shareholders rather to solve social problems and hence make positive social impact 13 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh (Cochran, 2007). SEs are organizations that seek business solutions to solve social problems (Thompson & Doherty, 2006). Similarly, SEs are organizations with aims initiated by a group of citizens that will benefit the community, but investor capital interest is subject to limits (Defourny & Nyssens, 2006). 2.1.2.3 Social Entrepreneurship versus Commercial Entrepreneurship The argument of Leadbeater (1997) to develop social capital (non-existent tangible and intangible community based assets) that will inspire disadvantaged individuals to push them to greater heights of responsibility and control over their wellbeing undoubtedly states the unique role of social entrepreneurship from commercial entrepreneurship. The concept carries different meanings among scholars and writers at different places. Popular umbrella constructs that have been associated with social entrepreneurship includes non- profit organizations that employ commercial formulae (Fowler, 2000; Frumkin, 2002), social venturing (Dorado, 2006; Sharir & Lerner, 2006), community entrepreneurship (Paredo & Chrisman, 2006), and cooperative enterprises (Alvord et al, 2004; Fayolle & Matlay, 2010). Dees and Anderson (2003) argue that the concept is a for-profit business and social venture. The concept adopts a different legal framework and has different fiscal responsibilities and obligations in different regional or geographic locations. There is a lack of universally accepted definition of the social entrepreneurship concept. However, there exist a converging consensus on the distinction between social entrepreneurship and commercial entrepreneurship. There is also consensus on the definition of SE which presents 14 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh possibilities of drawing out social entrepreneur and social entrepreneurship definitions. Social entrepreneurship stimulates a sense of solidarity which promotes social cohesion and social welfare as compared to the capitalistic or commercial entrepreneurship that is skewed toward achieving strict financial objectives (Fayolle & Matlay 2010). 2.1.2.4 Social Entrepreneurship versus Not-For –Profit Organizations The concept of social entrepreneurship in many quarters has been seen as synonymous to non-profit-business. However, this assertion is partially true and partly false. It is asserted that the social entrepreneurship concept and voluntary business operations have not been effectively mapped (Thompson 2002). They are two different business concepts in their own rights. It is widely recognized that human and societal development are at the crust of both concepts. The notion of giving back to society by the well-to-do and businesses largely based on the axiom of care in order to seek the betterment of society through business has helped in the foundation of these pro society concepts of business (Weerawardena, McDonald & Mort, 2010). Social entrepreneurship no doubts employ the principles of commercial entrepreneurship in its operations as confirmed by Thisted and Hansen (2014). It hitherto favours the growth, development and progress of society as well as reducing environmental vulnerability in its principles of operations. Social entrepreneurship and not-for-profit organizations not withstanding have some level of convergences; they both measure success on how many lives get affected positively through their interventions and thus focus on the vulnerable in society. 15 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh With regards to their divergences; social entrepreneurship could start and operate on small scale sometimes with just an individual or a small group of society like the Grameen Bank of Indonesia established by Muhammad Yunus, not-for-profit organizations operates targeting a particular vulnerable group of people in some cases industry associations, credit unions, cooperatives, sports clubs, mutual societies, trade unions, among others. Besides, the missions of social entrepreneurship firms could be unlimited to a fixed location as operations could travel out of established home boundaries while not-for-profit firms’ missions are largely limited to a particular association or society. Using the Grameen bank as a hypothesis of successful SE organization, social entrepreneurship firms can be funded by beneficiaries as against not-for-profit firms that have non dividend paid shareholders. The social entrepreneurship concept has exclusively been associated with not-for-profit organizations orienting towards earned income ventures or for profit. It has also been designated as businesses that integrate social responsibility into its operations (Bornstein & Davies 2010). 2.1.2.5 Social Entrepreneurship versus Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Social Entrepreneurship has been on the developmental process in this contemporary century (Austin, et al., 2006; Pless, 2012). The concept of corporate social responsibility developed under the theories of charity principle and stewardship however has since evolved overtime. As defined by Zahra, Gedajloivc, Neubaum and Shulman (2009), social entrepreneurship exploits opportunities to enhance social wealth through the creation of new ventures. CSR however are corporate philanthropic activities towards society in which 16 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh they act. Social entrepreneurship and CSR converge in the principle of improving society and environmental challenges that will enhance human development. Its divergences are clearly cut out in how they are facilitated. 2.1.3 Social Entrepreneurship Concept Contributing to the development of social entrepreneurship, Defourny and Nyssens (2010) focus on the convergences and divergences of the conceptions of SEs and social entrepreneurship in Europe and the United States. They emphasize the recent breakthroughs of social entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurship, and SE, in both the United States and Europe. They examined the timing periods from which the concept gained tractions among researchers and the academic authority. They indicate that SE and social entrepreneurship conceptions are entrenched deeply in the social, political, cultural and economic contexts from which organizations originate. They argue that researchers should take into account the regional variations (local and national) that underpin and as well outline initiatives of social entrepreneurship and enterprises to make meaningful understanding of social entrepreneurship and SEs. This will eliminate replications and make social entrepreneurship environmentally adaptive as long as it remains trendy. Writing on six SE case studies in Kenya, Thisted and Hansen (2014) examined successful SEs in Africa. Their research provided the foundation for relevant conceptual issues connected to the borders of social and commercial enterprises. They argue that all SEs to some extent have an ambition towards commercial entrepreneurial orientation. Remarkably however, all six cases that were illustrated failed to acknowledge any trade- 17 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh offs in their social mission as they commercialize emphasizing that the more commercial they become, they create a greater social impact. This considerably implied that the intended social impact may not be realized to the desired extent without commercial orientation which then has significant implications for the social entrepreneurship concept. The concept of social entrepreneurship has become more popular and an important research area in academia after its development in the late 1990s (Fayolle & Matlay, 2010; Huybrechts & Nicholls, 2012). Social entrepreneurship developed differently in the global south and global North. In Europe and US referred to as the Anglo-Sphere, there has been great focus on commercialization of the non-profit sector and private initiatives to supply public welfare products in Europe whiles in the US, more emphasis has been placed on collective entrepreneurship and organizational level analyses (Huybrechts & Nicholls, 2012, Kerlin, 2006). Academic events have recently bridged the gaps in the differences between these regions as discourses have progressed between the two civilizations (Huybrechts & Nicholls, 2012). The infancy of social entrepreneurship has been emphasized (Dees & Anderson 2006). Connecting social entrepreneurship to commercial entrepreneurship; building management theory of social entrepreneurship and examining the maturity level of the phenomenon all confirm the immaturity nature of social entrepreneurship. Martin and Osberg (2007) as well agree that the concept is immature and declares it unclear, uncertain and so vast a field that embodies many activities that cannot be better understood if the relationship between social entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship is not properly outlined. 18 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.2 Social Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century The social entrepreneurship concept is a buzzword connoting a new wave of capitalism (Fayolle & Matlay 2010). The concept has become strong among people who are socially aware and are skeptical of the ability of commercial businesses and governments to counter social challenges as illiteracy, poverty and environmental destruction (Dacin, Dacin & Tracey, 2011; Bosma & Schutjens, 2007). The phenomenon has drawn interest from academics, researchers, practitioners and professionals all over the globe. Popular umbrella constructs associated with the revolution of social entrepreneurship concepts include corporate responsibility, non-profit organization, community ventures, and philanthropy. The concept is also celebrated with the development of the microfinance system meant to cater for the majority of poor people at the bottom of the pyramid (Huybrechts & Nicholls, 2012). It is noted that variant environmental occurrences spring up the concept of social entrepreneurship in different geographical locations. The declaration of Donald Reagan that; “Government is not the solution to our problems. Government is the problem” has also been in effect credited with the rivalry between markets and states (Keohane, 2013). This has also resulted in finding innovative ways of solving some pertinent social problems which hitherto would have been occasioned by governments (Keohane, 2013). The concept of social entrepreneurship has been acknowledged as business with a social and environmental purpose. 19 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Besides new enterprise creation, SE main vocation is for social and societal needs that are not addressed by the state or commercial sector (Alvord et al., 2004; Thompson, 2002). Social entrepreneurship is shifting from a narrow, simplistic vision into a more sophisticated and complex perception (Fayolle & Matlay, 2010). As the phenomenon gains stimulus, multiplication of its definitions and forms are witnessed. Some writers suggest the emergence of an entrepreneurial economy in which knowledge, in particular, plays a key role (Audretsch & Thurik, 2004). 2.3 Social Entrepreneurship in the Global Context There are variations in the development process of the social entrepreneurship concept world over (Defourny & Nyssens, 2008). Social entrepreneurship in the United States is largely influenced by standard private foundations whereas; it is the states that drive social entrepreneurship in the United Kingdom. Providing a rich avenue for strong societies, cultural exchange, the UK social venture sector is one of the most developed sectors globally (Darko & Koranteng, 2015). In Europe, social economy and cooperatives characterize social entrepreneurships (Fayolle & Matlay 2010). On the global arena, social entrepreneurship has transformed from strictly improving human welfare at the bottom of the pyramid to issues at the apex of the pyramid. The concept has engulfed the debates on future of welfare systems as well as inspired legislations for society and social entrepreneurship firms in the United Kingdom (Grenier, 2009). Philanthropy has had its own share of contribution from social entrepreneurship as shifts towards impact orientation and strategy has been dramatic through the inspiration of social 20 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh entrepreneurs’ successful business insight (Letts & Ryan, 1997). According to Emerson (2003), the creation of a new asset class, social stock markets as well as responsible investments have characterized the arguments on social entrepreneurship with regards to finance. Seelos and Mair (2007) states that the concept stimulates actions and thinking on new models of business in transiting countries for low income earners at the bottom of the pyramid and is on the ascendancy in industrialized economies. Kerlin (2006) states that, the reasons for the emanation of social entrepreneurship institutions in the US was due to funding cutbacks by government in the 1980’s whereas in Europe it was largely due to the welfare crisis and growing unemployment and lack of government support except in some countries, natural occurrences created social entrepreneurships in Asia (Salamzadeh, Salamzadeh & Nejati, 2011; Spear & Bidet, 2005). 2.4 Social entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan African Context The sub-Saharan African environment has been very receptive to new developments on the global arena. The region has averagely high growth rates of GDP (Trading Economics, 2014). This notwithstanding, its socio-economic challenges persist. Many countries in the region have low per capita purchasing power. The Vision of Humanity (2012) and the World Bank (2014) classify seven countries from sub-Saharan Africa among the ten (10) most unequal countries in the world with high economic inequality (Rivera-Santos et al., 2015). Economically, it is comparatively more difficult to operate a business in Sub- Saharan Africa than in other parts of the world due to bureaucracy, informality, poor infrastructure and relative cost (Rivera-Santos et al., 2015). The Education index puts 21 21 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh countries in sub-Saharan Africa among the non-performing and least 30 nations (UNDP, 2009; Rivera-Santos et al., 2015). Again, among the 30 countries with the least life expectancy, 29 of them are sub-Saharan African countries (Das & Samarasekera, 2012). The World Bank rankings also classify 23 countries of sub-Saharan Africa among the 30 worst countries with ease to doing business (World Bank, 2012). The concept of social entrepreneurship in Africa is at the developmental stage. African contextual dimensions are yet to be incorporated into the constituents of social entrepreneurship in Africa. There has been some unstructured and uncoordinated literature across the Sub-Saharan African region. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and East Africa have produced majority of the few extant literature on the concept in Sub-Saharan Africa (Rivera-Santos et al., 2015). There exists some multi-country data research across Sub-Saharan Africa which involves some few countries in the West African corridor. There is also some multiple country data research on the concept seeking to establish African contextual dimensions that affect social entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa (Rivera-Santos et al 2015). Thisted and Hansen (2014) also employing case studies of six SEs in Kenya, examines successful SEs in Africa. Smith and Darko (2014) writing on the SE constraints and opportunities with evidences from Vietnam and Kenya, declared the concept as a hybrid business model with no legal framework supporting its operations in Kenya and thus registered as Non- Governmental Organizations or Companies or even both and are highly supported by international supporting organizations. The absence of single country data research thus 22 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh far is imperative. Entrepreneurship is acclimatized by the economic change as well as social, political and cultural contexts in which they operate (Atamer & Torres, 2008; Fayolle & Matlay, 2010). The environment within which entities operates impact some level of influence over them. 2.5 Social Entrepreneurship in Ghana The structural adjustment programmes embarked on in the 1980’s by the government of Ghana aimed at transforming the economic conditions of the country through the reduction of state participation and encouraging private sector involvement coupled with macro- economic stability and growth policies to open up the economy. Notwithstanding the gains that were chalked by these developmental programmes implemented by the government, high poverty persisted with grave social problems (World Bank, 2014). Ghana has achieved some successes in Sub-Saharan Africa in the field of democracy and trade development. The GDP has not been stable (PWC, 2014). Despite the instability of the GDP, the country is noted as one of the most promising economies with the recent discovery and drilling of oil. Ghana being within the West African sub region has not been properly represented in the relatively non-existent research on social entrepreneurship. Mention can be made of some level of work done on the “Social enterprise landscape in Ghana” by Darko and Koranteng, (2015) and Agyeman-Togobo, Togobo, Darko and Sharp, (2016) also examining the “state of social enterprise in Ghana”. It is worth noting that both efforts have been commissioned and coordinated by the British Council Ghana in their quest to develop the SE landscape in Ghana. 23 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh These together with the uncoordinated reports and case studies of SEs and near SE organizations exist in the Ghanaian social entrepreneurship space. Just as the concept is nascent on the international arena, its novelty cannot be denied in Ghana and the African continent as a whole. Ghana being part of Sub-Saharan Africa thus portrays a fertile ground for the development of social entrepreneurship. The country is a habitat to almost all the features of Sub-Saharan Africa when it comes to the development of new business ventures. 2.6 Analytical / Theoretical Framework A business environment is the tangible and intangible occurrences that affect business operations at its location. This implies the surrounding opportunities or threats that either grow or decline the progress of a going concern. Social entrepreneurship arises as results of challenging variables in an environment. It’s been found that these variables have different levels of influence in the creation, success or failure of SEs. Measuring the environmental impacts of these variables, the factors are looked at in the light of the PEST factors. There is no doubt all four groupings of the expected environmental factors influences the business of social entrepreneurship at different levels and geographical areas. The political environmental context brings about social entrepreneurship in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, the political and economic factors creates social entrepreneurship in South East Asia (Fayolle & Matlay 2010). Also, the failure of the public educational system has been the cause of social entrepreneurship creations in the 24 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh United States (Teach for America, 2009). Besides that, Corrupt and weak governments coupled with ineffective public sector organizations in Latin America gave birth to SE uprisings (Fayolle & Matlay, 2010). Many social entrepreneurs down play the very importance of the economic environment during the birth stage of the enterprise. Economic indicators such as inflation rate, interest rate, exchange rate, unemployment, are mentioned as the foremost economic issues that affect SE operations in Ghana. The data showed good economic conditions will minimize the growth of social entrepreneurship activities and bad economic conditions could develop social entrepreneurship activities. This confirms extant literature on socio-economic and spending cut being the causes of social entrepreneurships in the United Kingdom and Europe (Fayolle & Matlay, 2010). Social entrepreneurship activities cut across all the sectors of the Ghanaian economy. It thus ranges from agribusiness all the way to commerce (Agyeman-Tobogo et al., 2016). According to Fayolle and Matlay, (2010), social entrepreneurship is influenced by the social and cultural factors in the United Kingdom and the United States and this comes as results of marginalized groups in the society. The trends in technological know-how will provide insight as to how social entrepreneurship could be improved given the golden age of artificial intelligence. The issue of technology is however making in-roads into the development of business and livelihoods and social entrepreneurship cannot be left out. It is said that data is the new oil of the digital economy in the 21st century. For the reason above, the technological 25 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh environment no doubts has a huge potential in influencing the social entrepreneurship concept. 2.6.1 Social Entrepreneurship and the PEST Factors The focus of this research is largely on the influence of the PEST environmental factors on social entrepreneurship. The PEST factors are generically business external factors that shape and influence the operations of every going concern establishment. They either determine the success or failure of organizations as they favourably or adversely affect the organs. As hitherto presented as conventionally strategic and management external environmental factors, they turn to influence all institutional set ups in every environment. For this reason, social entrepreneurship environment cannot be said to exist in isolation of these factors as it is grossly impacted by the environment within which it operates. So far, literature on social entrepreneurship and the environmental factors in sub-Saharan Africa is scarce. On the global arena, some research has been conducted and it is well established that, the political context greatly shape social entrepreneurship in countries like India, Bangladesh and Pakistan whilst the political and socio-economic factors shapes social entrepreneurship in South East Asia. Gaps that exist in formal legislations (social strata discriminations) and social reality (results of the caste system) are addressed by social entrepreneurship organizations in the case of India. In Bangladesh, the functions and activities of ineffective governments are assumed by social entrepreneurs as the Grameen Bank established by Muhammad Yunus. 26 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The frequent occurrences of natural disasters (earthquakes, hurricanes and flooding) in the India, Bangladesh and Pakistan regions present more opportunities for social entrepreneurship to thrive. The social entrepreneurship concept provides avenues for the creation of organizations to replace or complement relief activities which hitherto would have been provided by international or national relief agencies (Fayolle & Matlay, 2010). It’s also been observed that in Latin America, Social entrepreneurship is encouraged by corrupt and weak governments coupled with ineffective public sector organizations. In developed economies such as the UK and US, social entrepreneurship firms are affected by social and cultural factors. Marginalized groups such as the Native Americans that are ignored by social welfare systems are at the mercy of social entrepreneurship interventions. To some extent, failure of the public educational system breeds educational inequality which gives rise to social interventions by actors of the social entrepreneurship concept (Teach for America, 2009). Also, developing socio-demographic trends for instance migrations of Africans and Asians into USA and Europe are ripe avenues for social entrepreneurship. The social entrepreneurship concept also provides an important space to breed social infrastructure to cater for infants during working hours whose parents may both be in employment. A greater part of the population remain marginalized on this planet as result of failure of the political, economic, and social institutions designed to address the fundamental needs and individual rights in society which creates chronic poverty (Fayolle & Matlay, 2010). 27 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.6.2 Social Cognitive Theory The theoretical literature attempts to establish a comprehensive understanding of the theoretical foundations of social entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurship concept borrows from management science, psychology, sociology and economics. Scholars like Buame (1996) and Fayolle and Matlay (2010) emphasize that entrepreneurial actions are a multifaceted and multidimensional phenomena having no single conception or discipline that provides a total understanding of the various segments. Social entrepreneurship is drawing from different theories and disciplines from a research perspective and thus enjoys some level of emerging excitement (Fayolle & Matlay, 2010; Hirsch & Levin, 1999). The theories and literature that are engaged by social entrepreneurship such as entrepreneurship and not-for-profit organizations as well as the perspectives and research fields lacks theoretical credibility themselves and thus social entrepreneurship currently has no consensus on definition and conceptualization (Fayolle & Matlay, 2010). To assess the environmental influences on social entrepreneurship, the study adopts the social cognitive theory framework. The recognition of environmental influences on social issues and cognitions make it imperative for this study. Human development is the core goal of social entrepreneurship and can be analyzed from the viewpoint of the social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1989). Baltes and Reese (1984) asserts that development is a generational process and thus not a uniform process. The welfare and development of human society involves many diverse types and shapes of changes. Social cognitive theory 28 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh is founded on the model of causation. The causation model is explained by discrepant in the model, B, or behaviour, denotes discrepant like skill, complexity, duration among others. The E represents the environment, which comprise of the situation, relationships, models and roles. P, or person, stands mainly for cognition and also personal factors as motives, personality and self-efficacy. Human behaviour is often described in positions of one-sided determinism. In the modes of unidirectional causation, the behaviour is seen as being modelled and measured by either the environmental influences or by the internal dispositions. The theory favours a model of causation which involves triadic reciprocal determinism. In the model of reciprocal causation, cognition behaviour, as well as personal factors, and environmental influences all function as interacting determinants that impact one another in a bidirectional manner. This does not mean that the sources of influence are equal in strength. Some source of impact could be stronger than other sources. The reciprocal influences also do not occur concurrently. It takes time for a contributory factor to wield its influence and trigger reciprocal influences. This explains the nexus between social entrepreneurship and the environmental factors in the Ghanaian dimensions. This theory has helped establish the seeming connection between the entrepreneurs (P = Person of the triadic determinism) entrepreneurship (B = Behaviour) and the environment (E = Environment) 29 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Figure 2.1 illustrating the influencing relationships between variable of social cognitive theory. Source: Adopted from Bandura (1989) The theory of causation explains the triadic reciprocal determinism. The basic underlining assumption of the theory is that, everything that happens has a cause. Thus activities, processes, establishments, occurrences do not happen in vain. There are always triggers that bring about these existences. The theory employs three factors being personal, behavioural and environment factors that bring about actions. The existence of social entrepreneurship therefore has environmental triggers that arouse the need or establishment of such organizations. With the principle of the social entrepreneurship, the person (P) or cognition in the triadic reciprocal determinism model ought to identify a specific social challenge that needs attention. A good attitude towards solving this particular challenge or display of indifference towards the identified social challenge is explained by the behaviour factor (B) or the action of the determinism. These two factors do not act in isolation. They are greatly affected and shaped by the surroundings. There is no doubts where an action takes place affects what is done and how it is done. The opportunities and threats that the 30 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh “E” presents either adversely or favourably affect the strengths or weakness of the “P” and the “B”. For an SE therefore to have its social and environmental mission fulfilled, it is imperative to know which factors in the environment will facilitate or deter this fulfilment. The theory regards the presence of the environment in the circle of business existence to either determine the success or failure of the business entity. Therefore assessing the influence of the Ghanaian environment on social entrepreneurship will help ascertain which factors of the environment will help in creating and or determining the success levels or failures of SEs. 2.7 Empirical Literature As a result of the nature of development of the concept of social entrepreneurship, most studies are limited to limited narratives and exposition essays and rarely empirical especially in the sub-Saharan African context. Several articles on social entrepreneurship lack empirical parts whilst those that display empirical findings are largely concentrated on qualitative methods (Sassmannshausen & Volkmann, 2013; Granados, Hlupic, Coakes, & Mohamed 2011). Case studies and in many situations single cases, single narratives and good practice reports are mostly empirical research forms used. Theoretical concepts of social entrepreneurship are often exemplified by the use of cases and narratives (Gartner 2007; Gartner & Birley 2002; Hindle 2004; Sassmannshausen & Volkmann 2013). 31 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Sassmannshausen and Volkmann (2013) set out to empirically measure and evaluate this assertion, emphatically argue that the social entrepreneurship construct has reached maturity. They conduct a bibliometric analysis of the social entrepreneurship literature and the academic structure of the subject. The goal is to draw conclusions on the developments and sustainability nature of the concept as well as expectations for future research that would provide concrete recommendations for qualitative methodological progress to allow more empirical measurement in research of the concept. They analyze key words, titles and abstracts of 124 research articles to assert that literature on social entrepreneurship was focused on limited variety of topics. This assertion is also observed by Desa (2007) who identified four thematic streams; definitional, constrained resource environment, government regulations and performance metrics of social entrepreneurship. The bibliometric analysis thus identified more distinct clusters and offered an extension of prior research as the dynamic development of the field has been demonstrated. Different coding system, definitions, conceptualizations, typologies, and describing phenomena formed the dominant cluster. In answering the call for proper understanding of the connection between SEs and its environments, Rivera-Santos et al, (2015) establish contextual environmental influences on social entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa. The research sought to address the question: “How do contextual dimensions influence social entrepreneurship in sub- Saharan Africa?” They conducted empirical studies of 384 SEs from 19 out of 49 sub- Saharan African countries. 32 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The study highlighted the importance of African contextual dimensions for understanding social entrepreneurship as well as incorporating African data insights into management research. An exploratory analysis is also conducted to help expand the knowledge of SE setting and to climax insights of African data contribution to the literature of social entrepreneurship. To this end, they propose four contextual dimensions (acute poverty, informality, colonial history and ethnic group identity). The influences of these factors were explored on the way social ventures perceive themselves and on their choices of activities. The study respond to the calls of researchers such as Zoogah and Nkomo (2013) and Zoogah (2008) to incorporate African insights into academic discussion in management research. Drawing on development studies, organizational theory and social movement, Alvord et al., (2004) attempt to provide more understanding into social entrepreneurship as a catalyst for social transformation. This they did through the comparative analysis of seven (7) recognized successful cases. The study focuses specifically on social entrepreneurship that creates innovative solutions to social challenges with a sense of urgency and also mobilized ideas, resources, social arrangement and capacities need for sustainable social transformations. The research proposed a social entrepreneurship factor that leads to significant changes in the political, economic and social contexts for the marginalized and poor groups. They suggest core innovations, organization, leadership and scaling up social entrepreneurship toward societal transformation. 33 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Basing on the fact that little is known about environmental factors influencing the social entrepreneurship phenomenon; Ferri and Urbano (2010) using the institutional economic theory as a conceptual frame work with a sample size of 49 countries, a regression analysis is conducted to establish how formal and informal institutions influence social entrepreneurship activity. With formal institutional variables such as access to finance, government effectiveness and public spending, public spending was found to have an adverse relationship with the rate of social entrepreneurship growth. Social attitudes among the informal variables as social needs and education, was found to increase the social entrepreneurship growth rate. Thus far, it is suggested that governments have a greater role to play in order to enhance the dynamism of social entrepreneurship in the economy. Low public spending discourages nation’s social entrepreneurial activities and hence stifles the entrepreneurial potentials of the economy. The research identifies variables such as access to finance, governance effectiveness, social needs and education skills do not have statistical significant relationship with the social entrepreneurship concept. 2.8 Chapter summary As observed from the literature, the concept of social entrepreneurship is in its nascent stage. The literature, especially from the empirical perspective, suggests a greater need for more research in the field of social entrepreneurship especially in the context of sub- Saharan Africa. Limited literature on the direction, principles and establishment of the social enterprises in Africa makes the concept less comprehensible in the contextual terms. There is the need for restructuring of the direction of further research in order to chat a 34 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh clear path and direction which are academically and professionally prudent. The review indicates there is not yet any single accepted definition of social entrepreneurship as well as no one profile can represents today’s social entrepreneur. Its status in the global and local academic and professional profile is still not well established. 35 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER THREE CONTEXT OF THE STUDY 3.0 Introduction This chapter provides information on social entrepreneurship developments in Ghana. The chapter includes: brief biography of Ghana, origin of social entrepreneurship in Ghana, social entrepreneurship landscape in Ghana, SE Ghana, and Ghana socio-economic statistics. 3.1 A Brief about Ghana This research is conducted within the context of Ghana which shares a boundary with Cote d’Ivoire to the west, Togo to the east, Burkina Faso to the north and the Gulf of Guinea to the south. With an estimated population of twenty eight million people and more than a hundred ethnic groupings and different cultures, the socio-economic problems of the country are numerous. Ghana has about forty nine languages (Anyidoho & Dakubu, 2008) which is a potential call for social enterprising to facilitate social cohesion among the different dialects. The country is divided into ten administrative regions similar to the internal colonial boundaries drawn and used by the colonial masters prior to independence as means of maintaining coherence to traditional states and tribes (Oelbaum, 2004). Dividing the administrative regions did not occur without political, land and resource conflicts as major clans were broken apart into different regions (Asante & Gyimah-Boadi, 2004). The developmental style of the colonial masters favouring urban development mostly in the southern part of the country left remnants of dissimilitude among the rural and urban areas. 36 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh These actions have starved some areas of no running water, little access to electricity, schools and medical and health services. These inequalities however persisted post- independence and have contributed to the existence of socio-economic disparities in Ghana (Asante & Gyimah-Boadi, 2004). This research is thus limited to social entrepreneurship activities that occur within the confines of Ghana. There is evidence of some SEs domiciled in the greater Accra region whose work travel out of this region to other regions, this study is looking at the influences of the environmental factors within the domain of the greater Accra region that affect the operations of these businesses. These are representative of the whole nation. The greater Accra region harbouring the capital city of the country is home to the peculiar environmental factors that could affect same or other SEs across the borders of the country. Hence, the findings of the study which has the scope of the greater Accra region is representative of the whole country of Ghana. 3.2 Origin of Social Entrepreneurship in Ghana The practice of social enterprising is an age-old phenomenon in a style (Agyeman-Tobogo et al., 2016). Recently, the declining growth of the country has created concerns about the stability and developmental priorities of the country. In the wake of external environmental challenges grappling with high debt stock, increasing inflation and the relatively weak currency, the cost of borrowing has sky rocketed leading to slow growth and a consistent fourth year of hindered growth (Agyeman-Tobogo et al., 2016). In the Ghanaian social entrepreneurship space, there have been attempts to establish the concept in its unique stand. With support from the British Council Ghana, Darko and 37 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Koranteng, (2015) looked at the SE landscape in Ghana whiles Agyemen-Tobogo et al., (2016) have also examined the state of SE in Ghana. In all, the concept is designated as growing in the Ghanaian business and social development space. The origin of social entrepreneurship in the context of Ghana therefore embodies two distinct concepts that is for-profit organizations and not-for-profit organizations as evidenced in the proposed definition of the concept by SE Ghana group. They propose a definition of SE as an organization that employ strategies of commercial business to maximize improvements in social and environmental goals. The focus of the organization is hence directed to social and environmental impact rather than profits depending on the country and the regulatory framework. The interviews for this research took place in the greater Accra region out of the ten regions of Ghana. It is thus expected that findings are inclined towards this region and thus nationally representative with regards to the factors that influence SE operations. 3.3 Social Entrepreneurship Landscape in Ghana The social entrepreneurship concept has received limited research in Ghana. An ecosystem commissioned by the British Council Ghana to provide an overview of the activities of SE showed that the phenomenon was nascent but was developing rapidly (Darko & Koranteng, 2015). It has been recognized that social entrepreneurship exists at the regional, national and international levels in the context of Ghana. Agyeman-Tobogo et al., (2016) found that 46% of SEs work at the regional level whiles 39% operate nationally and at the same time, 14% operate internationally. Western region has 75% of its SEs operating at the regional level while about 60% of those involved in the Northern region acts regionally. It is further ascertained that, one SE out of every twenty is operated as a subsidiary of another 38 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh enterprise. The greater Accra region happens to have the highest number of those operating internationally perked at 22% and seconded by the Ashanti region which holds 17% operating internationally. The concept currently lacks legislation and for that matter players in the scene are largely designated as commercial ventures or not-for-profit organizations. There’s a legal framework lacuna with regards to social entrepreneurship in Ghana. Little is therefore known of the nexus between the environment and the Ghanaian social entrepreneurship concept. SE has no distinct legal category to be registered in Ghana at the moment. Some SEs have had to register as sole proprietorships, non-governmental organisations or companies’ limited by shares. According to Agyeman-Tobogo et al., (2016), about 38% of respondents of their SE survey indicated, of the legal forms available for SE to choose from, sole proprietorship was the commonly used and also 47% of female led SEs were registered as sole proprietors. Sole proprietorship is evenly the most common business registration form in the business circles as it is less costly in set up and administratively less cumbersome in relation to other business forms (Kuenyehia, 2012). The next common legal form is the company limited by shares of 31% respondents, and then limited by guarantee (21%). The least common legal form is partnership, having 4% of respondents. Activities of social entrepreneurship in Ghana are largely dominant in agriculture, education, health, manufacturing and then services. This therefore makes it a multi-industry phenomenon. 39 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3.4 SE Ghana This organization is championing the coordination and growth of social entrepreneurship and among social entrepreneurs. Being the Ghana representative of SE Africa, they are currently working on the regulatory framework design for SE operation in Ghana. A policy framework draft has been formulated and advanced to parliament for consideration. Together with the ministry of trade, the organization is in the process of creating an ecosystem for SEs in Ghana. This research was conducted with their support. The samples interviewed are all members of this organization. 3.5 Ghana Socio-Economic Statistics This research takes inspiration from the definition of human development as a change process which leads to political, economic, social and environmental improvement and hence the confidence of people (ISSER, 2016). Social arrangements and human capital are important resources for human development (Frankel, 2005; Sen, 2004). The many socio- economic challenges of the country make the study of this concept imperative. Social entrepreneurship seeks to find innovative and sustainable solutions to the societal predicaments such as sanitation, corruption, unemployment, education, and housing deficits among others. Even though Ghana is a lower-middle income country, 24.2% of the national population is defined to be living beneath the national poverty line. At the same time, about 8.4% are living in abject poverty with a significant greater incidence of poverty in rural areas according to the 2014 Ghana Living Standard Survey (Agyeman-Tobogo et al., 2016). The socio-economic challenges of Ghana are believed to be rooted in regional disparities 40 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh (Agyeman-Tobogo et al., 2016; Al-Hassan & Diao, 2007), which are characterized by acute poverty, weak infrastructure, as well as weak civil society including chronic food insecurity in the country. 3.6 Chapter summary This chapter situated the research in the Ghanaian context. Factors that have necessitated this in the Ghana environment are examined. Ghana being part of the global world thus far is matured for such research consideration. 41 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FOUR RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 4.0 Introduction This chapter presents the steps in the execution of the study in order to achieve the study objectives. The chapter includes research approach, research design, research strategy, population and sampling, data sources, data collection methods, interview design, data analysis technique, and implication of the study. 4.1 Research Approach Research approach is a comprehensive research design which is a function of a study objective (Hair, Wolfinbarger, Ortinau and Bush, 2008). The target audience, the nature of the research problem, researchers’ experience, and the researchers’ worldview influences the adoption of a research approach for a study (Creswell, 2009). There are three research approaches; qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods (Creswell, 2009, Hair et al., 2008). Qualitative research approach is a strategy that emphasizes the use of words rather than quantifications in the collection and analysis of data (Bryman & Bell, 2007). A qualitative research strategy can either be inductive, constructionist, and or interpretivist. However, qualitative researchers do not subscribe to all three methods concurrently. Qualitative research is suggested to have four main traditions: Naturalism; which look at understanding social reality, Ethnomethodology: which concentrate on understanding social order and its creation through talk and interaction, Emotionalism; which also exhibits a concern with 42 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh subjectivity and the gaining access to ‘inside’ experience, and finally Postmodernism; which emphasizes on ‘method talk’. Largely, qualitative research has been critiqued (Bryman & Bell, 2015) as being; too subjective; difficult to replicate; has problems with generalization and lacks transparency. Quantitative research used to be the dominant strategy for doing business research. It involves the collection of numerical data and shows a view of relationship between theory and research as empirical, a fondness of natural science approach and having an objective conception of social reality. The preoccupation of quantitative research is measurement, causality, generalization and replication (Bryman & Bell, 2015). Quantitative research has been critiqued as; failing to distinguish individuals from social institutions from the world of nature; measurement process of quantitative research process possesses an artificial and spurious sense of precision and accuracy; reliance on instruments and procedures hinders the connection between research and everyday life; analysis of relationship between variables creates a static view of social life that is independent of people’s lives (Bryman & Bell, 2015). The contractions between quantitative and qualitative research are seen in the lights of quantitative researchers as preoccupied with applying measurement procedures to social life while qualitative researchers use words in analysing society even though they are also sometimes concerned with visual data. Also, in quantitative research, the researcher takes control and his/her concerns structures the investigation but the perspectives of those studied matters most in qualitative research thus, they provide the point of orientation of 43 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the study. Quantitative research is depicted as presenting a static image of social reality with huge emphasis on relationships between variables of study whereas qualitative research is depicted as attuned to the unfolding of events time of social setting. More so, quantitative researches are structured so that the researcher is able to examine precise concepts and issues of the study. However, in qualitative study, the approach is invariably unstructured hence concepts and actors meanings out of data collection are enhanced (Bryman & Bell, 2015). The mixed method research integrates both quantitative and qualitative research within a single research project. This is research that combines research methods that cross the two research strategies. The main argument against this method is based on the idea of epistemological underpinnings of research and thus both quantitative and qualitative employ different paradigms (Bryman & Bell, 2015). The mixed method uses qualitative and quantitative approaches to enhance the study so that the aggregate strength of the study is superior to either quantitative or qualitative research (Creswell & Clark, 2007). This study employs a qualitative research methodology. This has enabled the researcher to explore the environmental factors that influences social entrepreneurship in Ghana for a better understanding of the concept. This research employed the main steps in the qualitative research in coming out with findings and discussions in this study. Thus, the researcher first of all set out to explore the subjective meanings and influences of the Ghanaian business environment which led to the settings of the research questions as; 44 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1. What social entrepreneurship activities exists in Ghana? 2. What constitutes the Ghanaian Social entrepreneurship environment? 3. What ways does the environment of Ghana influence social entrepreneurship? 4.2 Research Design Research design is defined as a plan and procedures for inquiry which embodies decisions from axioms to comprehensive methods of data collection and analysis in achieving objectives and research questions (Creswell, 2009). Bryman and Bell, (2007) defines research design as a framework used for the collection and analysis of data and states that research design has five different research strategies that can be employed: experimental design; cross sectional or survey design; longitudinal design; case study design; and comparative design. This study employs the case study research strategy. A case study research is a practical inquiry that investigates a current phenomenon in detail and within its real life context that enables analytical generalization and not statistical generalization (Yin, 2009). A case study could be descriptive, exploratory or explanatory. The exploratory case study is employed for this study to help in the better understanding of the influence of the environment of Ghana on social entrepreneurship as well as seek contemporary insights on social entrepreneurship, the environmental factors that culminate its creation and operation and which environmental factors do influence social entrepreneurship. 45 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh According to Zikmund, Babin, Carr, and dan Griffin, (2010), exploratory research is better because it clarifies ambiguous situations and ascertains potential business ideas. The study has presented a wider view, incorporating all the relevant environmental factors and how they directly or indirectly impact on social entrepreneurs and the operation of SEs. Social entrepreneurship is relatively a growing phenomenon in Ghana and given the dynamics of social entrepreneurship and the operations of SEs, it is appropriate the qualitative techniques is employed to study the nature of social entrepreneurship and establish the empirical patterns and linkages among the variables of interest of the study. The qualitative technique is employed in “an effort to understand situation in their uniqueness as part of a particular context and interaction there” (Patton, 2002). Hence, the qualitative technique allowed for the study to explore the values and patterns of the impact of the environment on social entrepreneurship in Ghana. The qualitative methodology was also employed because empirical research on social entrepreneurship in Ghana is limited. The case study research is preferred when the extensiveness and richness of the phenomenon in real life context demands investigators to cope with technically distinctive situations (Yin, 2009). The case study also provides efficient, inexpensive and quick and accurate form of assessment of the target population. More so, previous researchers on social entrepreneurship have relied on case study research (Thisted & Hansen, 2014) to produce relevant findings. 46 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.3 Population and Sampling The population and sampling techniques are detailed in this section. Population is discussed and then the sampling techniques, sampling design, sampling size and sampling frame are explored. 4.3.1 Population The population of a research study is an aggregate of all elements that share common set of features that comprise the universe for purposes of the research interest (Malhotra & Dash, 2011). The target population is exposed to the environmental factors that influence SEs in the Ghanaian environment. There are about 26,000 social entrepreneurship firms in Ghana (Agyeman-Tobogo et al., 2016) and that forms the population size of this study. 4.3.2 Sampling Design In sampling the interviewees for this study, the criteria adopted the sustainable development goals (SDGs) as benchmark for selection, social entrepreneurs who were operating an SE at the moment, the SE had operated for not less than three (3) years, the mission of the enterprise should be aligned with at least one of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), the SE must have their focus on the urban and rural poor in our societies, the SE had to be at least micro (between 1 to 9 employees), small (between 10 to 49 employees) or medium (50 to 249 employees) in size as classified by the European Commission. Therefore a purposive sampling was used to target only social enterprise that fell within the sample design as stipulated. 47 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.3.3 Sampling Technique The non-probability sampling technique specifically the purposive sampling was employed to identify SE firms. Webb (2000) argues that sample members under the non-probability sampling technique ought to meet a criterion which is appropriate to the successful completion of their investigation. The criterion is based on respondents’ exposure to environmental factors that influenced or impacted SE operations (Qu & Ennew, 2003). 4.3.4 Sample Size According to Malhotra and Dash, (2011), sample size is the number of elements that are included in the study. Five SE firms were contacted with a corresponding five respondents. The five respondents were made up of only social entrepreneurs who had at least one of the SDGs as part of their mission and had been in operation for more than three years. 4.4 Data Sources Sources of data to address research problems are classified into primary or secondary sources (Hair et al., 2008). It is stated that, the sources of data depends either on whether data already exist or the span to which researcher knows the reasons for the data collected (Hair et al., 2008). A cross-sectional data is collected for this study. A cross-sectional data is the most common technique used and provides quick, efficient, inexpensive and accurate data collection means and gathering of information about a population (Zikmund et al, 2010). The sources of data collection are discussed as follows. 48 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.4.1 Primary Data Primary data are collected directly from first hand sources to address the current research problem (Webb, 2000). Primary data was the main source of data for the study. The research retrieved information on environmental factors that influenced SEs directly from the social entrepreneurs themselves. Such data was extracted from the interviews that were conducted in the data collection period. 4.4.2 Secondary Data Secondary data is data that has already been collected for some purpose other than the one under consideration (Webb, 2000). The secondary data sources were relied on for the review of existing literature for this study. To determine and understand the maturity level and growth or popularity level of the concept of social entrepreneurship, the researcher consulted the internet, journal articles, YouTube videos on the concept of social entrepreneurship, periodicals among others. This contributed to broadening the researcher understanding and knowledge of the social entrepreneurship concept. 4.5 Data Collection Method and Interview Design The data collection method and how the interview was designed are discussed below. 4.5.1 Data Collection Data collection is the process of gathering information. In-depth interviews were the main data collection tools for this research. The researcher went to the field with a comprehensive interview guide to probe social entrepreneurs on the influencing factors on 49 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh their operations for the multi-industry concept of social entrepreneurship. In collecting data, the sample directly targeted principal actors within social entrepreneurship firms who are exposed to environmental influencers. The researcher selected relevant SEs using the SDGs as a benchmark. Therefore only SEs that had at least one of the goals of the SDGs was selected for interviewing. The researcher also opted for those that had been in operation for at least 3 years old. Using these criteria, a multi-industry sample was chosen for the data collection. The relevant data collection process was undertaken with the assumption that every organization was unique in its context and that situations would be full of multiple and frequent conflicting interpretations and meanings (Thomsen, Leth, Prasad, Kuo, Kramer, Knabe & Giacalone, 1993). 4.5.2 Interview Design The main instrument for data collection for the study was in-depth interviews. The interviews were conducted with an interview guide with focus on influencing environmental factors on social entrepreneurship. 4.5.3 Conducting the Interviews The interview involved the use of a tape recorder used to record the interview. Questions were arranged in accordance to the environmental factors under study. The questions were posed one at a time to allow for adequate explanation by the interviewee. Neutrality was prime in the interview process with high concentration level and occasional nods. 50 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The study made use of unstructured interviews. The interviews were conducted with a planned sequence of questions in a bid to bring some preliminary issue for further in-depth probing. The focus of the interviews was to unearth the environmental factors that influence the operations of social entrepreneurship for a better understanding of the variables of the Ghanaian social entrepreneurship environment. Thus, the type and nature of the questions asked varied from how long the enterprise has been in existence, type of SE involved in, one respondent and response to the other. All interviews were conducted on face-to-face basis due to the availability of the sample size. Social entrepreneurs were interviewed on scheduled time lines. The interview sessions were audio recorded and transcribed. 4.6 Data analysis Data analysis includes the processes of making sense, coding and categorizing to make meanings of the phenomenon. Data was classified and organized through the creation and maintenance of ‘concept cards’ and hence conversations related to special themes were grouped. Through the analysis, different concepts were developed and concept cards reconstituted sometimes. As patterns in the data were identified, they were placed in the context of literature on the influencing factors of the environment on social entrepreneurship. Further, the contributions of this research stemmed from the underpinnings and application of the theoretical framework adopted for the study. The social cognitive theory states that everything that exists has a cause (Bandura 1989). 51 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The cause as well has influence on the concept or phenomenon and also creates a nexus between them as explained by the triadic reciprocal determinism. This brought to light some propositions about the influencing factors of the environment on social entrepreneurship firms and thus formed the basis for the findings of the study. This brought out the common themes and the essence of the data then emerged. The data was grouped into thematic constructs and analysed on cross case basis. The thematic subjects were used in aligning the results of the study. The results are presented in thematic areas as well. This makes the descriptive features clear for basic understanding to demonstrate relationships between the variables of interest and social entrepreneurship, and among the variables. 4.7 Limitations of the Study Data analysis was conducted on case by case basis. This brought out a vast number of uncorrelated influencing factors and the common themes segregated. Manual cross case analysis was the available mechanism employed which may be fraud with investigators weaknesses and biases. Future research could therefore employ the use of computer- assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) analysis such as Nvivo. The CAQDAS will therefore remove most of the clerical tasks related to the manual coding and data retrieval. Securing access to the interviewees of this study was not without rescheduling, disappointments, odd hour timings and distances involved in reaching each other. The sample of this study was highly dispersed across the greater Accra region and took long journeys in terrible traffic situations to reach them. This lead to some of the earlier agreed 52 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh times being rescheduled and others becoming total disappointment as interviews were called off completely. Generally, respondents were available but with disappointments which called for substitution with other social entrepreneurs. Time and financial resources were constrained. Due to long distance travels and getting involved in traffic, the team incurred huge amounts on fuel purchases and more time spent on getting to the destinations. Also, only social entrepreneurs were interviewed for this study. Thus the findings do not include the views of all stakeholders of social entrepreneurship and future research could include all stakeholders in the data collection. 4.8 Chapter summary In this chapter, the process undertaken in the research is discussed. The way the research was designed, the interview process, data source and collection, data coding, the analysis of data and the limitations for the study are enumerated. 53 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FIVE FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 5.0 Introduction The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of the Ghanaian environment on social entrepreneurship. 5.1: CASE 1: A Creative Art This is an SE involved in the creative Art space. The SE mobilizes five different arts professions and promotes their works in a quest to promote the African culture and heritage. The SE organizes musicians, fashion designers, poets, and artist and theatre arts professionals for their vision. Accordingly, the SE forms communities for these arts professionals to engage in promoting their arts. Projects that involve workshops and seminars and exhibitions are pitched and scheduled about three or four times every year. This social enterprise was created due to social environmental factors. “So first of all I realized in Africa, specifically in Ghana, we only promote the music part of art; we do not actually fixate ourselves on other parts of art. We are only into the musicians; we give them all the ground but we forget there are other thriving artists who are trying to get the kind of market they need to excel in their businesses. We deal with musicians, fashion designers, poets, and artist and theatre arts professionals. So that called for the crusade of getting artists to come on board to promote them, to give them the platform to expose themselves. We let them know that we’re trying to portray Africa in the real light, so they should actually stick to the African culture and let it sell on the outside market as well”. The social entrepreneurship activities in this case involve the creation of a harmonious environment for arts work to thrive in unison. It involves promoting the individual art works by bringing musicians into one community to produce purely African music to portray a good image of the continent. 54 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Besides that, they organize and train artist to draw purely African portraits and calligraphies that will reduce the stigmatization and stereotyping of the African cultural heritage. Also, poetry is promoted in the field of social entrepreneurship to display the richness and style in the African language. Fashion designers in the social entrepreneurship space are greatly encouraged to focus on promoting the African prints to create a good market and used as a means for tourism benefits. More so, theatre is organized in an African setting and plays are designed to promote an African living system and way of life. The activities of the case is stretched as a means of creating employment and thus reducing the countries dependency ratio which in the long run brings about the value creation mission of the SE. The essence of social entrepreneurship is to create a social capital to aid society out of its vulnerabilities. The environmental factors that are peculiar to this case include the under discussed, regulatory framework, corruption and bureaucracy, tax and tariff regimes, exchange rate, unemployment, taste and preferences, infrastructure, illiteracy, unequal national wealth distribution and technological innovation. A regulatory framework is the existence of the proper and adequate infrastructure which supports the control, direction or implementation of a proposed or adopted course of action, rule, principle or law. Narrations from this case indicate that the lack of a regulatory framework influences its activities positively. The lack of regulatory framework and or a policy document to direct the operations of SEs deprive the SE sector of direction. This thus, gives the SE space some leeway to operate across the various sectors of the arts space without limitations. That notwithstanding, the current business laws of the country (Companies Act 1963, Act 179) disadvantages the operations of SEs. Without stipulated 55 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh SE policies, the social businesses are forced to be registered either as non-profit organizations or for-profit organizations which makes the characterization of the social entrepreneurial concept problematic. “Significantly, it actually disadvantages us as social entrepreneurs because we do not get some of these policies or clear cut out policy framework assisting us. All we are getting is we trying to pay tax, in registering your company and our activities are not co-ordinated, go through a lot of stress and all of that” Since independence, there has been the fuzz about corruption in Ghana. There has been a relative improvement in the score and ranking on the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index of Ghana since 2006. That notwithstanding, the growing perception persists and government related corruption is on the rise as the country was ranked 64th in 2012 (World Bank, 2017). The situation at which public officials unofficially request for compensation for work is so rampant that, it dwindles the morale behind the social enterprising spirit. Officials who hitherto should have been helping the efforts of SEs demand some favours both directly and indirectly from the actors of the SE after rendering a service for which their employers remunerate them. “As for corruption, it is too bad for us. I think it is because our institutions are not really working. The delays as results of bureaucracy. I really do not get it. It is too appalling” The tax and tariff regimes are the levies placed on imported or exported products to and from a country. The regime has provided no exemptions with regards to social entrepreneurship. SEs therefore ends up paying and transacting with regards to the tax and tariff system just as commercial enterprises do. Due to the lack of a policy framework that outlines the work and characteristics of SEs from commercial ventures, SEs are captured 56 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh as with profit motive orientations and thus are supposed to honour tax obligations as profit oriented ventures do. “As I mentioned earlier, it looks as though we social entrepreneurs too, all we are doing is we trying to pay tax, after registering your company, and the tax regimes have not been lessened” The economic environment hinders the creation and running of socially aware businesses to promote human development. Economically, starting up a business and running it is generally high and higher cost of doing business wipes out the little gains that would have been used to support social value creation. The commercial parts of social enterprising suffer gravely as there is no economic policy regulation that protects the social interest of social enterprises. The exchange rate system of the Ghanaian economic environment has not been favourable for the development of this SE. Foreign exchange rate fluctuations disorganizes the proceeds that are realized from promotions of the arts works by this SE. The instability nature of the exchange rate system makes pricing of arts products very difficult. Only localized transactions of the organization are not affected by foreign exchange. “We have had to record budget deficits and sometimes surplus due to exchange rate differences. Arts that are purchased and paid with foreign currencies brings about conversions differences” The phenomenon of unemployment is when abled persons actively search and are not able to find work. Unemployment rates have a great influence on social entrepreneurship in the creative arts space. Apart from professional artists who practice these arts as a means of career, a lot of people run into the industry due to their inabilities to acquire other jobs in 57 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh other industries. The relative lack of the required skill and capabilities in the arts space makes it tough for marketable products. This thus translates into high unemployment rates breeding more SE organisations. “We are an organization trying to curb unemployment; so unemployment is one of the factors that heavily impact on us.” The social environment plays a significant role in the SE circles. The way of life of a people always has the potential to make or unmake organizations that targets changes in the community setting. Markets are formed and shaped by the tastes and preferences of the consumers. The tastes and preference patterns are influenced by the culture and available information on products. The taste and preferences of the populace, the norms and morals of the people, the religion, the traditional believes and disbelieves all culminate in determining the success or failure of an intervention aimed at creating social value or improving the lives of the community. Our cultural dynamics makes social enterprising a fertile ground for exploration as per the view of this case. “In a way that, let’s say, sometimes in Ghana, talking from the arts, some of us we try to erm say we are going all African. So for that kind of season, we would like to purchase more of the African prints, go in for arts programmes, do a lot of stuff, but there will be a time that will come that all of this demands will be on the low. Demand is going to reduce. I think our tastes and everything play a factor in all of that” The current infrastructure and knowledge on social entrepreneurship in Ghana is not suitable for the progress of SE. There is inadequate technological, social and knowledge infrastructure that supports SEs. Both soft and structural infrastructure needs more improvement to develop social entrepreneurship. The expectations of the society about social entrepreneurship are thus by far not encouraging in the progress of the concept. 58 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh “Because when you come out to be a social entrepreneur in Ghana, people look at you in a kind of way; they feel you have it all. Some people think you’re just in to it to make money because you don’t want to say it’s an NGO, you’re saying you’re a social entrepreneur, and we want to make money to be able to do social projects. How is that possible? So I think the way we see ourselves out there plays a role too.” Illiteracy which is one defined functionally as ones inability to read, write and understand in order to carry out a work is a stumbling block to socio-economic development (Quist. 1994). The literacy rate effect feeds back into the usage of technology for development of the SE space in the creative arts industry. The inability of some good musicians to read, write and interpret documents makes managing them herculean which translate into their lack of capacity to trend with technology. “somewhat yes, because as I mentioned earlier, we use technology mostly, so it disadvantages those who are not really... who are illiterate, it disadvantages people in that sector who are illiterate, so we have to let them know how our terms and conditions are; our pr system and all of that. So I think literacy rate is also a factor”. The unequal distribution of the national wealth in the social setting is another factor that gravely affects SE activities. This actually determines the creation and operation of SEs. The misallocation and for that matter the mismanagement of the national wealth has led to the social deficiency in development of the various sectors of the economy and communities. Communities that need special attention with regards to resource allocations are generally not prioritized in allocating the national wealth. This has caused grave social issues making the need for social value creation paramount. “I think people in the art sector are trying to out there for more, because we’re not getting more of that cake. It’s going too much into science and technology, we’re going into the rural areas to do more infrastructure, but we’re forgetting some of the people who need more of this is people in the art world, because we need more creative minds to be able to actually think for government, develop some of the 59 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh policies that will be shaped to help some of the thriving artists and I think it’s an uneven distribution in my perception.” Technological innovations are the dominant factors that influence significantly the operations of this SE. New and more scientific ways of doing arts are always invented which has a heavy impact on styles and performances. Arts have become a global issue and technology runs through the world in the promotion of artifacts. Arts crafts have become a technological savvy industry and this is evidenced most especially in our music, paintings and theatre plays. Through technology, arts can travel in the shortest possible time at a very far destination. Thus, it has merged both local content and international arts. With a click on a mouse, a local arts can be sold and purchased throughout the world. For a creative arts SE, technology plays a hectic role. Technological innovation has consistently promoted the creative arts industry and thus affects the industry in diverse ways. The advent of the website, electronic mail, social media among others has revolutionized the arts industry from music to theatre arts. “As I said, it’s the only key factor that has helped us since the emergence of XXX. I only had a laptop then, and not what smart phone, so it helped me in getting all my members on board, getting all my key people who are playing a factor in our executive board. Technology has made it easy for communication because we need to get feedback from out there, what people are thinking about us, and with just a Google form, we get people entering inputs and giving us information we need. With the internet, we get to know what’s trending, what is next to do, which events are out there in Ghana, which people are actually doing something and we don’t know about them. With just a profile on Facebook or an Instagram profile you can be able to identify people’s unique talents, you just give them a call, and... Yeah technology has made our operations very easy and I think without technology, star Africa will not be where it is now.” The Ghanaian business environment is very conducive for the development of SE as asserted by this case. There is the presence of huge opportunities in the Art space that calls 60 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh for social enterprising. The business environment thus far does not hinder the progress of social enterprising as evidenced in the below response. “The environment is conducive because art is all around us. We have art all over us, in different communities and it’s because Ghana is generalized. So I think the environment doesn’t block the chances of art.” The concept of social entrepreneurship surfaced as a result of social and environmental challenges. Innovative ways of solving such difficulties while impacting human lives positively has become the cornerstone of social enterprising. As the phenomenon is born by environmental challenges, there is surely a kind of forced direction from the environment that correlate the operating environment and the enterprise itself. This case therefore upholds the existence of a direct link between the success of a SE and its environment. The enterprise does not act in isolation of what is around it. So, the conditions of the environment presents opportunities and challenges that all come to play to determine the success and failure of a social entity. “Yeah, because the environment actually plays a significant role in that. You need the people around you to be able to determine your success or failure, so if your environment is not being a good factor, then your SE is not going to be climbing up on the success ladder” 5.2: CASE 2: A Clean Energy Company This is a clean energy company operating in the green renewable energy space. They specifically use organic waste in the manufacture of smokeless charcoal. Formed out of social and political environmental issues, the social entrepreneur became curious to find out what is left of coconut husk after consumption of the coconut water and fruit. Having a chance to witness how a kenkey seller used such waste as firewood moved this social entrepreneur to search for better solution. Metropolitan women in the charcoal business are 61 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh direct target as the first beneficiaries of this innovative way of charcoal production as a way of increasing the value of their lives. The business is set up to help reduce the death rates that come from cooking with charcoal in Ghana. “We identify the women who sell the charcoal, we give it to them directly and they in turn sell it to the average customer. Because when the women are rich, the house is rich. We cook with charcoal. And in the process of cooking with charcoal, a lot of harm comes their way. And most of them don’t even know. As a matter of fact, cooking alone kills more women in Ghana than HIV/AIDS and even maternal mortality. Because the smoke they inhale gradually the last time the World Health Organization released the statistics, it was around 600,000 Africans who die every year from solid fuel emissions (World Bank Report, 2014)” This SE is involved in the reduction of waste and thus providing solutions to the perennial sanitation problems. They employ coconut waste, sugar cane waste and wasted bamboo sticks and process them into charcoal that goes a long way to save lives. In the process of collecting these organic waste materials, employment is created for the unskilled labour. There is employment creation at the processing stage and the final stage of the chain as sellers are sort to sell the final product. The SE value creation in this case is two-fold; harm that would have been caused by the use of charcoal from timber are curbed as this particular charcoal is smokeless and environmentally green and the ultimate goal of saving human lives at the end as world Bank report indicates deaths from inhaled smoke from cooking with wood charcoal. Secondly, their activities provides clean environment which also leads to reduction in sanitation problems. The intention of every SE organization is to combine profitability with social and environmental goals. Thus, their activities are so designed to specialize in the ultimate goal of bringing about social value creation and reducing risks associated with 62 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh survival. In this energy industry, the environmental factors that are paramount include policy framework, political climate, corrupt practices, tax and tariff regime, exchange rate, inflation, cultural dynamics, infrastructure, technology innovations. The political environmental factors are the dominant significant factor that affects SE operations in this case. The non-availability of a clear cut policy document to regulate SE businesses results in the unclear nature and misinterpretations of our companies Act 1963, Act 179 which affects the SE venturing to a large extent. Policy framework on waste management of the country is not too friendly to players who want to operate in that space. “I think the political aspects of it really affect us. Because you’re looking at us, for example, collecting waste from the street. And then because we have some weird laws in this part of the world, someone expects you to have a license to collect waste in order produce charcoal, they expect you to have a license to transport charcoal, to even store charcoal, and all these things are charged in dollars, that’s the ‘XXX’ Commission I’m talking about. So the political environment aspect of it is really affecting us. If we should go out there to say we’re collecting the coconut waste, ‘XXX’ would want us to have some form of accreditation from them. But then these things are destroying the environment.. As at 2012, it was stated that Ghana and Accra alone in a day was generating about 3000 tons. That’s like 30,000 kilograms of waste a day of which just 400 is collected. So the remaining 2600 where does it go?” The political climate that may lead to governmental interventions, policies and regulations in the business space has great potential impact on the operations of SEs. Regulatory directions that may come as results of changes in the political system stand a huge chance of determining the success or failure level of this clean energy SE. As it’s seen, this case currently needs no operating license to collect waste from the system which is used in the charcoal production. There is the fear that, government could one day grant such license to another investor which will more likely drive this SE organization out of business as raw 63 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh materials will now stand a chance of shorting or becoming expensive to collect since a wholly profit making venture might have entered the market who can afford to pay or even pay higher for what hitherto was free. The view of this social entrepreneur is thus expressed; “It really does affect us. Looking at something from this perspective, politics affects everything we do in this country for example, politics determines whether our currency is strong or falls against the dollar. When the politicians begin to play games, for example, what we are doing, they can wake up one morning and decide that they’ve given someone license to collect coconut waste, it’s definitely going to affect us.” A bureaucratic environment has the potential of breeding corruption in the society. The almost not functioning checks and balances in our public institutions create dubious opportunities for people to illegally enrich themselves. Public servants often seek to frustrate legitimate systems for their own advantage. Corruption is a social canker that Ghana is struggling with. Corruption perception is very high which in turn affects every aspect of doing business. “It really does. I told you about the license we were told to secure to enable us collect the waste, something that is choking our gutters and causing floods. Hhhmmm, when we inquire about the process, we were told that, when we are ready we can just come and see them, they will sort it out. I mean, can you imagine?” The tax and tariff regime of the country has been favourable to a large extend to SEs. Issues relating to tax holidays for young companies go a long way to improve their standing. Socially and environmentally aware business has benefited from the tax holidays offered by the country’s tax regime. Generally, start-ups are not required to honour tax obligations for some specific period at the formation stage of the business life cycle. This thus goes a 64 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh long way to boost the economic standing as the formation stage often come with huge cost of operation. “I think with that it’s very conducive depending on your understanding of the tax regime. Because if you are young enough, you’re not expected to pay tax to a certain amount. We are fortunate; we have somebody who is an expert in that, so it helps. But generally I don’t think it helps, because not everybody knows some of these things, and they all end up paying.” The economic environment factors relates to issues of the fiscal and monetary policies in the economy. Among the economic indicators of the economic environment, the effect of the exchange rate has been the significant environmental factor having adverse effect on their operations incomparable to all the economic factors that affect their business. It has excessively hiked the purchasing cost of productions machines due to exchange rate instability. The instability of the cedi performance has brought about excessive loss of money due to exchanges of currency. “The exchange rate does. Because we have to buy a lot of things from outside the country. These are not produced here. Yeah. I did give an example of when we took a loan. The rate at the time was 3.9. By the time the money got through the manufacturer, the dollar had risen to 4.3. So, we now had to top up 4 cedis.” Inflation which refers to the general and persistent increases of prices of goods and services in a strange sense does have a positive impact on this case. High cost of energy will make people look for alternative energy sources. As charcoal is a traditional source of energy whose prices are relatively stable regardless of excessive increases in price of general goods and services, this SE turns to gain in the event of high cost of liquefied petroleum gas. “I feel the more they increase the prices of goods, the more people tend to look for alternative and then begin to align with some of these social oriented enterprises so to work with so for example the price of gas goes up, people, revert back to using 65 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh charcoal and then it gives us an advantage. And the more the price of fuel goes up, the price of charcoal goes up so we also benefit in that regard. So economically its two way but we also seem to benefit in that regard.” The social environment embodies the social dynamics of a geographical area. The commonalities and differences among social practices make up this environment. This social entrepreneur sees the social environment as a good ground for breeding social entrepreneurship. By far, this is the most contributing factor to social enterprising in the Ghanaian business space as per the assertion of this social entrepreneur. Our way and culture of living are contributing factors to SE development. The cultural and social dynamism inter-play in the social environment. “The social environment does. I am looking at it from this point where you live in an environment where people don’t really use what you produce, or people don’t really care about what you produce. You are lost at it. People don’t really care. But then our setting is helping because, people use the product not because they can’t afford other things, but because it’s a cultural thing. People don’t use charcoal because they can’t afford gas, they use it because you can’t cook the normal tuozafi on the gas. So the social aspect of it kind of helps us in a way, especially this way. So to us it’s to our benefit.” There is inadequate infrastructure in Ghana. The social infrastructure of Ghana has been acknowledged to be not enough for the development of the various industries within the country. This social entrepreneur laments the woeful inadequacy of SE infrastructure in Ghana. The building blocks of social enterprising are absolutely not adequate in the social space when it comes to the energy sector. Social infrastructures that can help the development of social entrepreneurship in Ghana are relatively absent. The existing building blocks of business also have no provisions that will recognize SE as a distinct business portfolio. 66 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh “No. We don’t have that infrastructure. I don’t think even the Registrar-General’s department has a category for SEs. So the structures are not really there to support SEs. You’re on your own. Unlike, for example, the UK they have this #SOCIENT, and they are very vibrant. You just need to register with the SE community and it opens doors for you. I follow some of them and they are seriously surprised that the government of Ghana has not even noticed us.” Technology has had its fair share on the operation of SEs. With the advent of new ways of doing charcoal, the age-old industry has seen some level of improvement in reducing the health hazards and other challenges associated with the industry. Inventions of production machines have brought about efficiency and speed in making hazard free charcoal. Also, technological inventions such as social media in the technological space have really shaped the operations in a fashionable manner. The advent of technology has improved production methods. Technology has also resulted in the enhancement of the raw materials used in the making of charcoal and hence reduces the sanitation problems of our capital city. This is thus a socially aware enterprise created out of technological innovation. “Yes. Because what we are doing is an age-old industry, and with modern technology, we are able to do it and do it efficiently, unlike what I saw in Tumu. When we started, we were molding the charcoal in the ice cream molds. Now we have machines, within an hour, we are able to produce a lot of coal. And we’re still getting more technology to even reduce the burning hours.” According to this case, the Ghanaian business environment is not conducive for social entrepreneurship development. The concept is quite misunderstood in the Ghanaian sense. It is seen as just another form of capitalistic way of doing business where the owners and shareholders hold sway of absolute benefits without giving recourse to social and environmental development and that creates grave problems for the SEs. This social entrepreneur laments the adverse impact of this misunderstanding. 67 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh “Ghanaians have yet to understand the whole concept of social entrepreneurship. They don’t get it. And the environment definitely isn’t conducive. Because SEs are just like any other businesses but what sets them apart is the intention in their formation. So, we could all be selling charcoal but one could be doing it strictly for money making venture. We are also doing it for money making, but our intentions are different because we are looking at different things. So you can’t expect us to be paying the same taxes, and you can’t expect us to be facing the same laws in the same industry. Because we are, in the end, affecting the society in a different way” The success or failure of an SE and its environment is directly correlated. Businesses can hardly thrive in unfavourable environment. Regardless of a business funding capacity, a bad and an unfriendly business environment will ruin all efforts towards survival. “Yes, there is. Because if the environment isn’t conducive, it makes it difficult for you to thrive. No matter how much funding you have, it will always be difficult if the environment isn’t conducive.” 5.3 CASE 3: Youth Empowerment This is a youth empowerment SE specializing in the organization of seminars and training conferences and/or workshops for the youth in specific jurisdictions. These projects take place four times every year in three-month intervals. This enterprise was established due to lack of self-discovery among the youth on their potentials and what exactly they want in life hence the social environmental factors created this business enterprise. “The reason is, a lot of the youth don't know what they want in life so it's obvious that we need to help them discover what they really need to do with their various lives. A lot of young guys are having very brilliant ideas and they're not able to discover whatever they think they have in their head. So, people have the talent but self-discovery is another thing all together. But some people are unable to discover what they have in them. Somebody needs to guide them to discover what they have in order to make them useful to society so it's pure social basis that really influenced my decision to venture into such a SE activity.” 68 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The social activities of this case are to train and equip the youth to explore their potentials. They provide direction on career issues and mentoring sessions. The work involves general counselling and career direction given to the young in the society to pave a career path for them. The activities involve the organization of seminars and training programmes for the youth in the target locality. These activities are organized three to four times annually in an attempt to equip and better the young generation for a brighter future. The creation of a social capital both tangible and intangible community asset is manifested in the intention of this SE. The idea is to better the generation of tomorrow who will add social value to their various families and community at large. This thus classifies this enterprise under the human development sector of the economy. In the drive to empower the youth for a more responsible and sophisticated future, this case are influenced by the factors as; policy and regulatory framework, corruption, tax regime, interest rates, social/cultural dynamics, illiteracy, unequal distribution of national wealth, infrastructure, technological innovation. The business policy and regulatory framework outlines a business concepts operation guideline. The absence of policy and regulatory framework is a gap in the political environment which significantly influences the social entrepreneurship concept as compared to the other environmental factors in the view of this social entrepreneur. Policies and legislations rule the country and it’s thus true for business concepts. As government has limited resources and cannot do all social interventions to improve the livelihoods of society, the onus lies with government to provide an enabling environment for individuals with laudable ideas to compliments the efforts towards the development of society. 69 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh “I think we are being ruled by the political thing because they are the policy makers, they have to draft papers on those things so that we'll know that okay, basically this is how SEs are supposed to work like, these are the support they could give to somebody with a laudable project who wants to really.... because the government can't do it all and we are the people who could probably subsidize the effort of government” Receiving financial and other benefits for official and unofficial works or duties are becoming almost part of the business culture of Ghana. Even at the law making body of the country, there have been many allegations of corrupt practices. There is a high expectation of people in positions together with their own immoral behaviour towards wealth acquisition that, being corrupt looks almost like a normal thing. Even our body politicking has not been spared of countless accusations of corruption. “Listen, let me tell you, even the district common fund thing I talked about, I assure you, even if they release any of it to fund or promote your social interventions, they will request you to give them back their share if even they don’t even remove theirs before given you the rest. It is disheartening” The political environment invariably promotes the growth of SEs when it comes to the tax and tariff system. The tax holidays and the laxity in enforcement of our tax laws are a motivating factor in the political environment towards the establishment and running of social entrepreneurship. At the infant level of business organizations, there is a leeway awarded by the regime to abstain from paying tax for some period of time which enables the businesses to gather momentum for survival. “I know in some other countries, even when you want to venture into social entrepreneurship as a whole thing, you're supposed to pay some tax to the government being an entrepreneur but in Ghana we don't have such a law. So, some of us have even registered businesses and we still haven't paid tax and nobody cares. So, we're making the impact we want to have so we don't really bother over tax payment.” 70 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Economically, the interest rate does affect the operation of SEs. The rate destabilizes the commercial part of the social enterprising. The situation where a business secures a loan facility to undertake a project and ends up paying almost twice the principal is appalling. The unfavourable indicators of the economic environment are therefore not encouraging social entrepreneurship to flourish. This is evidenced in; “So, the interest rate is really a matter. We have to find a way of solving that problem because some of the projects we're doing wouldn't benefit me as a person Because...this is highly confidential information but I have to share with you guys. I ran a project last two years at Dodowa for a school. It was a school based ICT program and I needed money to buy the tools that I needed for the project. So, we ended up going for a loan from ‘XXX’ Services. We took a loan of GH¢3,000 and by the end of the day, ([00:13:13.28] Indiscernible) around GH¢5,000 within a period of 3 months. Ever since then, I've learnt my lesson” Social dynamics is the frequent changes in the setting of the society with regards to behaviour and interactions. That is the way and manner in which a group of people behave and interact can contribute to the development of social entrepreneurship. The social dynamics is the significant influencing factor of the social environment. The general life style, the tastes and preferences, the likes and dislikes of the community, general acceptable behaviours and taboos culminate to promote SE development in the various localities. “It influences a lot. Because, imagine you're going to run a SE project on maybe teenage pregnancy and you go to Trassaco. What are you going to do there? Do you understand? What are you going to do at Trassaco with a teenage pregnancy program? It may be relevant there but, if you compare Trassaco to my village ‘XXX’, I think it's better for you to go to ‘XXX’. The environment determines the kind of project you should do for the people or the kind of things you should do. And projects, one thing you need to understand is that, it's about the people, it's not about you. You have the idea” 71 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The cultural dynamics is another heavy factor of the social environment that heavily impacts on social entrepreneurship. The differences in the ecosystems of living in the communities are very crucial to social value creation. Social entrepreneurship is all about creating social value and development. This therefore will thrive on only an encouraging environment. “Sure. It influences. Because, I'll still use teenage pregnancy for example again. You go to some communities, and they don't see anything wrong with teenage pregnancy. They see it as part of human life. So why should I be 13 years and not have a child? I'll have a problem. I worked in an environment where, if somebody completes JHS, they feel like the person has graduated from the university. And sometimes I ask myself, are they thinking well?” The illiteracy rate is one of the social factors that have the potential of breeding and influencing SE interventions. There are too many unlettered Ghanaians and things would have been far better for the economy if many were literate. It is just quite problematic. Illiteracy is seen as the bane of all the social vices such as teenage pregnancy, drug misuse and abuse among others. Illiteracy thus breeds the necessary situations that merit social enterprising and its growth. “It frustrates me so much. It's a problem. We all know that statistically, illiteracy rate is very high in Ghana and I'm sorry to say this but even some of us so-called educated are one way or the other illiterates” National resources are seen to be unequally distributed among the deserving citizenry. No territory of the economy is ever seen to get enough and fair share of the nation’s wealth. This has contributed to the backward state of some areas as against the relatively better societies. This social entrepreneur laments how the unequal distribution of the national cake indeed contributes to the births of social entrepreneurship. Unfair allocation of developmental projects within the country has called for social aware individuals to carry 72 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh out the mantle to chart ways of improving human living standards. Due to scarce resources possessed by governments, allocations are largely difficult which results in misappropriations and unequal distributions. “I haven't received any funding from anywhere to run my project. Meanwhile, I know there are some funds allocated by the YES Ghana...I know that there are some District Common Funds and whatever you can think about, basically established to help such projects but you go there and they tell you that the government hasn't released any money into the coffers. You want to do what you're doing, so you just probably need to find a way of sorting yourself out and finish with your tasks” This case admits the influence of social infrastructure on the development of social entrepreneurship and believes the existing infrastructure is enough for the flourishing of social entrepreneurship. Both software infrastructure and physical infrastructure the country possesses is sufficient with the advent of technology for social enterprising. The country does have a good number at the moment that could facilitate the work of social entrepreneurs in the technology industry. “I work from my bag. I work from my bag. My laptop is in my bag everywhere I go; it doesn't really matter. So, what are the tools you need in everything you do? We're living in a tech world, the basic thing you need is a laptop that could aid your work. I don't really believe that infrastructure should determine what you do. Yes, there are a lot of business incubation centers in Accra here. Talk about iSpace, talk about Impact HUB Accra, talk about all these places. They have incubation programs for young entrepreneurs coming up both in social and the commercial entrepreneurship industry. Technology as a tool influences the SE operation in this case. The factors are fully employed to achieve success of the SE. “For me, that's the only tool I use. Technology based tools, because everything I do, you're using website, you're using social media, you're using all the platforms just to reach out to more people ([00:34:19.03] Indiscernible).” However, data cost is a major hindrance to the financial operations of the enterprise. The cost of data is affecting the enterprise adversely. 73 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh “Look, data is too expensive in Ghana. You buy data and within 2 - 4 days, you actually have to buy data again. You'll be left wondering where the data is going. So, if we could get a policy relating to data usage and internet...Yeah, it's basically data; seriously.” On a general note, this social entrepreneur harbours the view that the Ghanaian business environment is conducive for social entrepreneurship even though there is the lack of guiding principles on what exactly a SE is and who qualifies as a social entrepreneur. Business policies provides the frame work on business conduct and in the absence of such guiding principles, business may find it extremely difficult to operate as socially responsible institutions. “So, we're making the impact we want to have so we don't really bother over tax payment. So, I think the environment itself is very friendly when it comes to.... Anybody can venture into entrepreneurship without any constraints. That is, if the person has interest and is willing to look at all the [odd things still break through], it's a good thing. So, for Ghana, we have that friendly environment for entrepreneurs to really explore their in-built whatever they have in them.” The non-availability of a policy document for SE operations makes it difficult to determine the direct link between social entrepreneurship and its environment. It is hard to measure the impact of the environment when there is no policy to regulate the activities of the SEs as this case asserts. “It's going to be extremely difficult. Because, there is no policy so there aren't any properly outlined guidelines for people to probably use to work as social entrepreneurs or whatever you think about. Still, the policy is very important, if you get the policy, you'll get the guidelines; these are the dos, these are the don'ts; these are the interests of the country; so, if you're developing any project, the project should be in line with these kind of...maybe unemployment, tech related activities or any other thing. So, the policy framework is very important. It will help you to really know what exactly is supposed to go and...” 74 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5.4: CASE 4: Education and Health This is an educational scholarship awarding and health awareness creation SE organization. They undertake yearly health awareness programmes and also award scholarships to needy students. The beneficiaries of this enterprise are in their teen ages. Issues of the economic environmental factors brought about the creation of this SE. Social activities in this case are focused on the provision of scholarships to good but needy students as well as issues on health awareness creation. The case takes inspiration on the saying that ‘health is wealth’ and thus aside providing financial support to students who need support for formal education, they create awareness on lethal diseases that spread across the globe. The idea behind this chosen activities are that, with a healthy life and a good formal education, society will be good for the general population. The purposes of SEs are to create a social value that will bring about social change and development. The factors identified as influencing factors of the environment of this case include; political climate, tax and tariffs regime, policy framework, corrupt environment, dependency ratio, exchange rates, illiteracy, unemployment, government social agencies, unequal national wealth distribution, and technological innovation. This case maintains that the political climate is one factor that has greater influence on their operations. The situation where the country conducts elections to elect political leaders brings about low projects since such activities are usually clouded with political and electoral uncertainties. Their activities are carried out throughout the year except during election years when inflows to push the projects are stalled. The political climate is good for SE development. Ghana has a peaceful political climate; there has been peaceful 75 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh transfer of political power from one party to the order on many occasions. This is all what businesses need to flourish. If the democracy of Ghana develops to this level, then any form of business can flourish in it including social enterprising. “During the election year things are slow. You aren’t able to do donations, because everyone is saving, not willing to spend because they are afraid something might happen so it affects everything. That’s what I can say, but the political side I haven’t really experienced anything.” The tax and tariff system of the country is not too friendly for the development of this particular SE. If SE would be taxed, there should be a different and suitable taxing system targeted at it since their motive for operations is not to maximize profits but rather to help create social value which in the same way, the tax system is working to create. Thus taxing SE will be taking too much for the social cause. “No, it’s not favourable. Recently I received a call from XXX. They said since others are using ‘XXX’ for money and some are even having schools we should let them know what we are having aside from the normal things we do. So that we start paying taxes. I think the government should rather help than to take money from SEs, because the SEs are there to help the socio-culture and everything in the society its not to make profit.” Due to the absence of policy guidelines, SEs currently either get registered as a commercial business or a non-profit organization. However, SE falls in between the stretch of these two business concept. Therefore they are quite difficult to identify and regulate. There is the urgent need of a SE regulatory framework. “There is some level of confusion in identifying SE from the other profit oriented business concept. I think as a matter of urgency, the government should develop legislation on this to make that distinction. In the absence of that policy, the actors in this field suffer” 76 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Corruption seems to be accepted as part of the daily business transactions. It is almost as though corrupt practices are well recognized by the constitution of the country. Virtually every aspect of the economy and geographical area turns to be infested with this immoral social act. Generally, people who need help one way or the other to carry through a business transaction are always in a hurry to pay their way through as quickly as possible. Throughout the major sensitive institutions even in the villages, corruption has heavily penetrated livelihoods. “Even in the villages, they are corrupt. It looks like everyone has just accepted it as part of living. You won’t believe that, even we go to help people in their communities, they make these kinds of gestures towards us as if they are rather doing us a favour by allowing us to come and help their poor families and kids” Improvement in economic status among the general public will have a positive impact on the mission of this particular case. The inability of households to cater for the academic needs of their wards are what motivates the establishment of this SE. The rectors of this organization have hopes that with the improvement in the economic system of the society, the human capital will be developed and for that matter a better society for all. With improvement in the economic status of parents, the poverty levels and dependency ratio will be minimized and thus social development. “In the society we live in, if we are able to help each other. For instance, if the villages we have been going to, the parents are able to take care of their children’s basic needs. I think our work will be less and without difficulties because our aim is to help the society. If the society we live in everything is okay, the things we would have to do will also reduce” The inconsistent exchange rate regime of the country also influences the operations of the case in question. Receiving fixed amount of foreign currency for projects in a year from supporting hands always create budget instability. Initial figures used for budgets to request 77 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh for funding come in fixed amounts without recourse for the unstable exchange rate regime of the country. This however sometimes results in excess funds received when amounts are converted into the local currency with higher rates. The reverse is however devastating in the events of low rates which results in budget shortfall. So all in all, the exchange regime thus makes budgeting problematic. “Our sponsors for instance, the donors outside have amounts they give to us every year. And that’s what we use to cater for the kids. Every year let’s say they bring $1000.00, they wouldn’t say because the rate is different they would give $2000.00. That’s the money they are going to bring so when that happens it affects our business.” Illiteracy rate is a grave social issue that really hampers the activities of this SE. The challenges of people’s inability to read and write are enormous. Inability to read and write breeds lack of understanding. “As for illiteracy rate it really affects us, when we go to the villages it’s not easy at all. When we got to their schools some can’t even spell their names and it’s not easy operating that way. The illiteracy rate is very high in the country.” Unemployment rate increases the dependency ratio of the country. A higher dependency ratio means an increase in the work of the case in question. The inability of parents to provide for their wards or dependents’ passes that responsibility to the general society. This increases the expectant number of people who would have needed help in order for the general good of the society. And since resources are limited, the skewed available resources will end up not satisfactorily doing the job as allocated. “Unemployment rate, it increases the dependency ratio in the country. If maybe in the case that we are taking care of … their parents are working, I don’t think we would have work to do. To go there and pay their school fees because they are not working or having anything to do, that’s what makes our work. So, the unemployment rate increases the dependency ratio in the country.” 78 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh In the view of this social entrepreneur, the social agencies provided by the governmental institutions are the cause for creation or development of social entrepreneurship. The governmental social agencies least promote social value creation to develop human capital. There is the attitude of negligence on the part of the public institutions that are lawfully mandated to promote the social developmental cause. “It’s not helping in anyway. We’ve been to the ministries, we’ve been to social welfare and they are not willing to help. To me if you help someone who’s doing something good, at the end we all benefit from it. You help the society, but I think to them it’s a favour to you and not the society so they aren’t helping in anyway” Unequal distribution of the national wealth coupled with the misplaced priority allocation of national resources is actually the root cause of the poor social environment. The country is blessed with so many resources and if only it was applied properly to the sole benefit of the masses, we would have really been progressing better than we currently do. The successive government has adopted their own political agendas and that has not been to the general good of the communities. A good number of the societal problems we encounter are as result of the government’s policies they implement. It is therefore not far-fetched to say that our governments are a part of our social problems as lamented by Donald Reagan (Keohane 2013). “We do not look up to the government to do what we are doing; we are doing it from our hearts. We have a vision and a mission that we want to achieve, but the government is not really helping the SEs. As you see, they are not helping us. Seeing how they pay the ministers, to me they can use their money and rather help the underprivileged communities and develop them. Give them loans to farm and things; if they are able to get work to do it will also minimize our work. And they’ll be able to take care of their children.” The technological environment has helped in the promotion of social activities. The advent of social media is a living testimony. Facebook, Instagram has really been utilized in the 79 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh promotion of the activities of this enterprise. The influence has been very positive for the time being. Technological innovations have also had a marvelous impact on the operations of this case. The advent of application software has facilitated the development of the enterprise for better service to the society. “Aside social media, we’ve been using the internet to do our works and we have a data base. The database is for kids, so anytime we have someone or anyone who wants to sponsor a child will go through our database and pick at random. That’s what we do, just pick at random.” The technological factors are the main factors that influence the concept of social entrepreneurship of this case. The advent of social media has revolutionized the activities of this SE. With technology now a day, knowledge is readily available in the different sectors of the economy. Some information that could be gotten in a week or months is now available in the matter of seconds or minutes. The quickest transfer of data and information from geographical area to the other is just amazing. Delays in transfer of knowledge and information which could hitherto affect the performance of business organizations are now minimized. Per the assertion of this said case, the Ghanaian business climate is not conducive for the development of social entrepreneurship. The neglect of one another in the Ghanaian society makes the social value creation a tedious job. The lack of trust and dishonesty among the Ghanaian communities makes help for one another entirely difficult. “Not really, Ghanaians, they aren’t ready to help each other. The foreigners help more than the Ghanaians, we are here but don’t get any from here except outside. I understand them because of dishonesty, people take the money and don’t use it for the purpose they went for the money. Because of that, Ghanaians hardly trust each other so it’s not easy but the foreigners are able to help when it comes to NGO’s and SEs they are willing to help.” 80 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh This case acknowledges the correlation between the success of a SE organization and the environment in which it acts. A friendly and enabling environment will surely foster the growth of SEs that will ultimately inure to the benefits of the general community. The occasion of SE is to mainly alleviate the social challenges or create social value for the development and improvement of lives. When there are grave social issues and vulnerability in the society, a creative means of solving them ought to be devised and these are often spearheaded by innovative social entrepreneurs who will turn the problems into solutions for the society. “Yes, because we are there to help the society and if people are willing to help us, we will be able to achieve our goals. But if people are not ready to help, and are only interested in business. They want to invest into something they will gain from, For instance, you’ll go to a company and they’ll say if they give you money to make a borehole how will they benefit from that. But if one comes saying they’re forming a company in a village and every year will give this amount, they are going to benefit. So, the community we live in is not favourable for the non-profit making SEs, but the profit making are benefiting.” 5.5: CASE 5: Sanitation This is a non-governmental organization that has transformed into a sanitation SE. They are in the business of providing software and hardware sanitation facilities to the target community. The SE provides sanitation education to schools and communities as well as households. The enterprise also provides hardware sanitation facilities, especially community fresh toilets. The business works with a toilet technology which has been referred to us community fresh toilets which are bio-digester based toilets. The motivation for being a social entrepreneur has been the wish to touch lives and improve society. The intention for setting up SEs has been a clear individual desire to create social value for the 81 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh absolute development of the general society. Technological and social environmental factors brought about the creation of this SE. “Okay so I believe that wherever you find yourself, you should be able to touch lives. So umm I have had the passion to affect lives, to impact lives. I’ve worked in a couple of NGOs where I’ve done one or two projects to impact lives. So when I got hold of this technology, I had no choice than to bring my passion to bear. So I started with the school project, and that’s where the SE started. I mean the NGO has evolved overtime into a SE where the NGO has to be sustainable so that as you impact lives, you engage in a social business to fund your social projects and that’s how we veered into the SE piece where we build for communities and households to raise funds. So basically it’s a genuine interest to impact lives” The activities in this case concern the construction of bio digestible sanitation facilities. It is construction of household, public places of conveniences that are odorless. The social friendly part is that, they are green toilet facilities that replace the septic tank system. In this case, the hazardous health threats that emanate from the septic tank system are avoided. Life time savings are made as the need to distil septic tanks are no more which in the long run boost the economic standing of the households and the community at large. The human development and improvement intent are manifested in the activities of this case as community sanitation is highly prioritized thereby promoting good health. This in the long run also creates wealth as savings are made and health is sustained. The actions also include the creation of employment in a different skill job that ultimately enhances living standards. The below represents the identified environmental factors of the sanitation industry as outlined by the case under review; government business, corruption and bureaucratic environment, tax and tariff regime, regulatory framework, exchange rate, unemployment rate, social infrastructure, illiteracy, unequal wealth distribution, technological innovation. The political environment is the most influencing factor of the environment in the view of this 82 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh social entrepreneur. A good number of sanitation projects are government projects. A good engagement of people in the public sector or political power promotes business activities. Government business embodies a greater chunk of the general political environment and it will be really difficult to progress in any form of business without the support of governmental agencies or regulations. “You know most projects are through the government. Also whatever you have to do, you have to engage people in politics or state institutions. Get your registration, get your permit, you know, all that. And these institutions are woefully under - performing, I mean they are not working.” Businesses mention corruption as an obstacle to doing business in Ghana even though corruption is relatively low compared to many countries in the sub region (World Bank, 2017). A contributing factor to this and coupled with is the bureaucratic system of the public sector as administration in the public service leaves more to desire. This case also mentioned the canker as an impediment to its development and thus the case is highly influenced by corruption as evidenced; “We had a motor bike we use for our inspection. Someone came to claim ownership of the motorbike so we sent it to the police station; provided our documents and it came out that we are the true owners. Okay, so we’ve finished everything, let us have our motor bike, the CID said we should buy him a plastic chair. Yes. I mean if bureaucratic, and it’s working, it’s fine. But you meet roadblocks, corrupt people who you can only bypass them only when you offer them something” The tax and tariff system has a potential positive impact on the operation of social business if only they are used for the purpose for which they are collected. Tax revenues that are used for the development of the community and fulfilling the missions of SEs will have a favourable impact on SE. The negative impact comes when taxes are collected and used for non-developmental agendas in the community for which they are collected. 83 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh “Okay umm I will say that, I will say its opportunity cost. Okay so if you’re paying tax and your mission of paying tax is that the tax revenue collected by the government is going to be used to provide a conducive environment to operate, then I mean its okay to pay tax, if only it’s going to benefit you. But this is a situation where you pay huge taxes and I mean you have projects and they deduct huge withholding tax but yet nothing improves, look at the roads. And so I mean, you have to pay tax irrespective of whether you’re a SE or a business entity” There is the lack of a SE policy in Ghana. SE in the space is acting in a vacuum or being governed by commercial enterprise policies or other pro societal policies. “I don’t think there’s any policy for SE. I fear that probably there might be policies but they are not just working.” The exchange rate as well affects the business of the case in question. The products that are purchased for the assembling of the digester toilet have some parts that are foreign made. The fluctuating exchange rate regime distorts budgeted cost and throws out variances after projects completions which affect the expected returns. “Basically on projects - foreign projects that we get payment from abroad. Yes so it affects us so much and mostly we use locally made products but there are some of them which are still foreign. For example, the ceramic seats especially that we use is foreign, you don’t get them here. So once you’re using some materials that are foreign, you should know that it will impact, the exchange will impact” In an unusual sense, unemployment affects the operations of this case rather favourably. The case uses more artisans’ hands that will usually not stay with the business ones orders are on hold. Thus, the more there are available factory hands without work, the better for this case. “Oh okay, so labour. That’s also another. Unemployment rate also affects us in the sense that probably I don’t know how to explain it but what has happened over the years is that you hire people who constantly want to work. The artisans; they constantly want to work. So if there’s a breakage in your project, they go away to work with other people. So I can say that the higher unemployment rate, the better for us because there will be people who will be available.” 84 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh However, in another sense unemployment will also results in less demand for the products. Therefore on the demand and supply side, the unemployment will surely influence the SE business in a negative sense. “Oh yes, yes. Because more people will not demand for toilets because if they do not have money, they can’t pay. So on that side it affects us but from the labour side also. You understand from the labour side.” “You know all the factors have negatives and positives in terms of how they affect our business so if you talk of inflation, inflation affects our business in the sense that the materials we buy becomes expensive so you spend more money to buy those materials. Then also, the exchange I’ve already mentioned, The social setting has a big influence on the operations of SE. The social dynamics in which we find ourselves is quite a change resistant and penetrating an environment with a new technology will sure face some challenges. “Okay so first of all this is new technology. And I’ll talk about the software and hardware. People find it very difficult to accept the change. They are used to digging 20 ft. down, 30 ft. down. So unless you show them. So you build for them and the little they find they complain. And sometimes, too language barriers. I mean, cultural differences also come to play. You know stereotypes about sanitation part too. Sometimes just common things about sanitation, people don’t” The social infrastructure is not generally friendly for social entrepreneurship development in the Ghana setting. The physical environmental factors that ordinarily should make an ecosystem favourable to develop new concepts of business is absent in the case of Ghana. The soft infrastructure too is not too suitable for business development. “The road network is very bad. You need to transport your materials and some of your roads are not accessible. So Ghanaians infrastructure is gradually as you can see, gutters are being constructed and other things so we are hopeful that the roads will eventually be constructed but I mean even in Accra, it’s not better. It’s just improving. Now the telcos are doing well. Now we can access the internet easily and communicate through social media and that’s encouraging but I will say that inside Ghana actually it’s not too good.” 85 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Another major problem affecting social entrepreneurship development is the rate of illiteracy level in the country. The inability of many to read and write or the lack of formal education stands to negatively affect social entrepreneurship. Doing projects that involve adherents to instructions which when deviated from could pose serious difficulty to projects and cause wastage is an issue when illiterates are involved. As SE have social and environmental missions beside profit motives, the core intention of their projects are largely to better society and thus wastages and spoilage of materials could be problematic. “That’s also an issue. Because of the people we are targeting, households, that’s where you meet the old folks. Who are virtually … some have never been to school and trying to explain things to them is also an issue. If you have to deal with a younger generation, probably you will meet someone who has been to JHS or SHS, it’s better to read it to them. Sometimes, you try to….i was on the phone with someone yesterday.” The distribution of the national wealth is so appalling as it is unfairly and improperly done to the extent that donor funding for specific projects such as sanitation are also under threats as reports indicate the world bank development partners express desire to withdraw sponsorship for sanitation projects. Misallocation of resources on the part of government is a grave cause for worry. “You see? Recently, there was report. World Bank is trying to withdraw its support from sanitation in Ghana. Because over the years, they’ve pumped money into the sanitation industry and yet nothing is being done. All these monies are going into people’s pockets and the masses are left like that. There has been huge release / monies for these things which haven’t been used for this purpose. So unequal distribution of the nation’s wealth is always a problem for everyone” Technological innovations have really helped the operations of the case in question. The world has really become a technological world and old methods and ways of doing some 86 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh projects have really become obsolete. Thus, the need for frequent innovative ways of doing things. “Okay so it depends on which angle you’re looking at. Mostly, I do project-specific innovations. So I get to your site, I look at what your needs are and then I design it for you. And they come naturally. And I designed in the sanitation industry; I design what has come to be known as the two-on-one. So you build one digester and you build two rooms for compound house. In the compound houses, there are some houses they don’t want male and female to use the same room so I design one digester and two rooms. So technology impacts us and we also use in designing these things. Sometimes we need certain tools that help us design them well, that’s eh tool sets.” The Ghanaian business environment is not a perfect environment for social entrepreneurship development as per the assertion of this social entrepreneur. There are obvious challenges the country faces as an upcoming country. Development comes with so many different challenges that different people may take advantage of the situation. “(Laughs) Very interesting question. Well what I’ll say first of all is that every developing economy faces challenges and opportunities. So opportunities as well as challenges. And I will say the Ghanaian environment, the opportunity here is great. The environment is not too conducive” 87 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 5.1: Summary of influencing factors of the environment on social entrepreneurship in Ghana Cases / Factors Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4 Case 5 Illiteracy1 * * * * Inflation2 * Interest rates2 * Infrastructure1 * * * Tax and tariffs 2 * * * * * Unemployment2 * * * Exchange rates2 * * * * Political climate3 * * Cultural dynamics1 * * Dependency ratio2 * Government agencies2 * Taste and preferences 1* Regulatory framework3* * * * * Wealth distribution2 * * * * Corrupt bureaucracy3 * * * * * Technological innovations4* * * * * Source: Field data 2017 Note: below is the interpretation of the (1, 2, 3, 4 and *) in the table above 1 means the factor is a social factor, 2 stands for economic factors, 3 denotes the political variables and 4 is the technological variables. * means the particular construct has an influence on the correlated case. Where the box is left empty, there is no established influence on the correlated case. 5.6 Cross Case Analysis The aim of this study was to ultimately find out the nexus between social entrepreneurship and the PEST environmental factors in Ghana. The table 5.1 above provides the insights on the specific environmental factors and its impacts on the aim of the study. For example case 1 is influenced by regulatory framework, corruption and bureaucracy, tax and tariff regime, unemployment, exchange rate, taste and preferences, infrastructure, illiteracy, unequal wealth distribution and technological innovations. 88 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Case 2 has its environmental players as; policy framework, political climate, tax and tariff regime, exchange rate, inflation, cultural dynamics, infrastructure, technological innovations, and corruption. The influencing factors of case 3 environment include; regulatory framework, tax regime, interest rates, social and cultural dynamics, illiteracy, unequal national wealth distribution, infrastructure, corrupt environment, and technology. Case 4 are impacted by environmental players as; political climate, corrupt environment tax and tariff regime, policy framework, dependency ratio, exchange rate, illiteracy, unemployment, government social agencies, unequal distribution of national wealth, and technological innovations. The case 5 is also heavily influenced by environmental factors like; government business, corruption and bureaucracy, tax and tariff regime, regulatory framework, exchange rate regime, unemployment rate, social infrastructure, illiteracy, unequal national wealth distribution and technological innovations As can be seen from the above, corruption and bureaucracy, regulatory framework, tax and tariff regime, exchange rate, unequal distribution of national wealth, illiteracy and technological innovations are the most dominant influencing factors of the business environment on social entrepreneurship in the Ghanaian environment. These factors affect more cases of the study which range from manufacturing, construction and services. 89 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The objective one of this study was to identify social entrepreneurship activities in Ghana. The study found that social entrepreneurship in Ghana is a multi-industry phenomenon. That is, the activities of social entrepreneurship are found in more than one industry of the economy. Social entrepreneurship activities are found in manufacturing, construction and the services industry. This study is thus similar to Agyeman-Tobogo et al., (2016) and Darko and Koranteng, (2015), who found that social entrepreneurship activities cut across all the sectors of the Ghanaian economy ranging from agribusiness to commerce. This means that social entrepreneurship is not limited to a single industry but can be formed in any industry of the economy. The objective two of the study was to ascertain the environmental factors of social entrepreneurships. It found that, similar to other business environments in other countries, the Ghanaian social entrepreneurship space also had influencing factors within the political, economic, social and technological environments. The research showed that social environmental factors were what created cases 1 and 3. Also, socio-political environmental factors led to the creation of case 2. Economic factors created case 4 and the social and technological environmental factors brought about the creation of case 5. These findings confirm the findings of Fayolle and Matlay (2010) that political and socio- economic factors of South East Asia gave rise to social entrepreneurships. These also resonate with political forces bringing about social entrepreneurship in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Also, Corrupt and weak governments coupled with ineffective public sector 90 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh organizations created social entrepreneurship in Latin America (Fayolle & Matlay, 2010). Besides that, the failure of the public educational system which are all remnants of the political environment, lead to the formations of social entrepreneurships in US (Teach for America, 2009). It is also confirmed that in the UK and US, socio-cultural factors are what affect social entrepreneurship (Fayolle & Matlay, 2010) The objective three of this research work was to establish the nexus between social entrepreneurship and the Ghanaian environment and this has been very well established. As established by the social cognitive theory that is explained by the theory of causation, the triadic determinism theory of causation states that everything that occurs has a cause and is influenced by these same causative agents of the entity. The challenges in an environment are what breeds social entrepreneurship. These environmental variables intend affect the operations of this same organizations. Thus, there is an environmental challenge with sanitation problems, and an innovative social entrepreneur upon realizing the challenge, organizes and mobilizes resources to help solve the sanitation problem, intending to create social value in the form of improving human lives through causing employment which will reduce poverty, clean society that will result in good health and prolonged life span and thus a better society and environment. In the process of this, the living style (culture) could disregard the implication of dirty environment and hence continue in causing sanitation problems which reduce the progress in obtaining a clean environment. The environmental factors thus results in the creation of social entrepreneurship which correlates with literature on the factors that create social entrepreneurship in the global North and South. 91 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5.7 Chapter summary This chapter analysed the individual cases to extract common themes of environmental influencing factors. A cross case analysis brought out the dominant factors that cut across all the broad PEST factors. 92 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER SIX SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 6.0 Introduction This chapter includes the summary of findings, the conclusion and recommendations of the study. It also contains the contribution to the social entrepreneurship theory as well as implications to theory and future research directions. 6.1 Summary of findings It has been pointed out that the environment has an impact on the social entrepreneurship phenomenon in the same vain as the environment influences commercial businesses. In line with this thinking, this research was to establish the nexus between the social entrepreneurship concept and the environment in which it acts. Thus the research was to the answer three specific questions; In the first place, the study sought to identify what kinds of SEs exist in Ghana? Secondly, was to ascertain what constitute the social entrepreneurship business environment? Finally, was to establish the ways in which the environment of Ghana influences social entrepreneurship in Ghana? In the quest to find the answers to these, five social entrepreneurs in Ghana were interviewed for the study. A qualitative research approach was adopted for the study in order to explore the environmental factors that would help in contextualizing the phenomenon. 93 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh For the collection of data, the study utilized an in-depth interview. The study used a purposive sampling technique with the Sustainable Developmental Goals as the criteria to select and interview five respondents who had different social entrepreneurship backgrounds across the various industries of the Ghanaian economy. The respondents included social entrepreneurs in the manufacturing space, construction and the services industry. Themes were drawn from the data and thematically analysed. 6. 2 Social Cognitive Theory and Social entrepreneurship in Ghana: Evaluation Social entrepreneurship in Ghana is triggered as results of challenges posed by the environment. As it is enumerated in the cases analysed above, the political factors challenges, the economic imbalances, the social deformity and the technological innovations and advance rates have largely contributed to SE creation in Ghana. The individual components of the larger environmental factors contribute immensely in determining the success levels and failures of these same social businesses they help create. The position of the social cognitive theory on the environment playing a critical role in the formation and operation of entities is thus confirmed in the Ghanaian context. The cases that have been studied in this research all came to being as results of one or two of the environmental factors that necessitated their creation. It is therefore the relative influence and potential of the environment entails that qualifies it as a determining factor in what form and/or SE should be formed. 94 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 6.3 Conclusion Social entrepreneurship has its roots from entrepreneurship which was coined from military adventurism. By extension, social entrepreneurship is a spin-off from commercial entrepreneurship. By distinction, social entrepreneurship combines profitability with social and environmental goals as against commercial entrepreneurship which is wholly profit oriented. There is an on-going discussion on the constituents of social entrepreneurship and the extension to incorporate the African contextual dimensions will deepen the debate. In spite of these arguments, scholars are of the view that, incorporating the contextual dimensions of the environments in which social entrepreneurships exist, will help in the understanding of the concept and that will help in positioning it as a unique academic discipline. The fundamental objective of this study was to establish the link between social entrepreneurship and its environment. The study found that political factors as regulatory framework, corruption and bureaucracy, has adverse impact on the concept of social entrepreneurship with tax and tariff regimes to a large extend having some level of positive impact even though its negative influence outweighs the positive. It was also found that factors such as exchange rates regime and unequal distribution of the national wealth are the factors of the economic environment that highly affect the operations of the social entities due to the social and environmental intent in creating a social capital for the general public. The study found that illiteracy was the dominant social factor among others that run through all samples as having a negative influence thus leading to the creation and as well as influencing the operations of social entrepreneurship. 95 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Also, the study made a major finding that technological innovations (advent of social media and technology advance rate) affect the works of social entrepreneurship positively in the Ghanaian space and this is yet to be recognized by extant literature. The social entrepreneurship phenomenon is at the embryonic stage in the Ghanaian social development. Social entrepreneurship activities have been in practice in the Ghanaian space for a long while but were not designated as such. This correlates with the argument on the international level. The concept is recently taking grounds as there is strong advocacy for a social entrepreneurship policy framework to be put in place. Before now, Ghana was represented in the social entrepreneurship literature as a component of sub- Saharan Africa and was generalized to display the dominant environmental features of the sub region. Contrasting the findings of this research to extant literature, the Ghanaian social entrepreneurship environment even though has some commonalities with the African environment, there are some variant factors that create and influence social entrepreneurship in Ghana. Whereas acute poverty, informality, colonial history and ethnic group identity have been identified as the African contextual dimensions of the social entrepreneurship environment (Rivera-Santos et al., 2015), the Ghanaian setting has produced a rather varied in-depth dominant environmental component (regulatory framework, corruption and bureaucracy, tax and tariff regime, exchange rates, unequal national wealth distribution , illiteracy and technological innovations) as major influencers falling under the political, economic, social and technological environmental factors. 96 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The nexus between social entrepreneurship and the Ghanaian environment has been established. Social entrepreneurship comes about as results of social and environmental challenges. The influences of these factors vary from one SE to the other. The environment therefore has a direct influence on social entrepreneurship activities. The process of social entrepreneurship resonates with the theory of causation and thus the social cognitive theory. The theory stipulates the importance of causation and environmental forces in the development of concepts. 6.4 Contribution to Social Entrepreneurship Theory This research contributes to the social entrepreneurship theory through the confirmation of the environmental factors that influence the operations of the phenomenon while advancing forward more patterns of environmental influencers in the Ghanaian environment. There are three major contributions to the social entrepreneurship literature as evident in this study. Using a qualitative multiple case study methodology, the study probed the social entrepreneurship practices in Ghana that has revealed the underlying influencing factors and their impact on the development of social entrepreneurship in Ghana (Santos 2012; Mangaliso, 2001). The results generate theoretical and practical insights for social entrepreneurship researchers, policy makers and practitioners who are engaged in qualitative social entrepreneurship research and the environment and the impact of the later on their performance and for researchers and practitioners who may consider engaging in any of those researches (Rivera-Santos et al., 2015). 97 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Lastly, the result effectively answer the several calls from other researchers for additional research into the influencing environmental factors on social entrepreneurship and the incorporation of African dimensions into management research (Mangaliso, 2001; West, 2010; Julian & Darkwa, 2013) 6.5 Recommendation Social entrepreneurship in Ghana is dominated by the provision of social and environmental services. That notwithstanding, there are other SEs found in the manufacturing and construction/service space. Due to the small number of the sample size employed in this study, it is recommended that future studies should increase the sample size so as to generate a higher representative views on the concept. Different sectors of the economy ought to be looked at in the light of social entrepreneurship. There is the urgent need for policy framework to govern the social entrepreneurship phenomenon. The social entrepreneurship and commercial business regulatory framework together with not-for profit organizations need to be effectively mapped out. The policy document to govern social entrepreneurship should classify the concept as ‘social business concept’ and necessary regulatory support duly outlined to govern operations. 6.6 Implication for Policy The lack of regulatory framework on social entrepreneurship excludes the sector from proper monitoring and evaluation. As the companies’ code of Ghana Act 1963, Act 179 does not capture the modus operandi of social entrepreneurship, it is extremely difficult to even identify which organization is a true SE, monitor them and evaluate their activities 98 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh and performance. More so, the bureaucratic and corrupt nature of the public sector institutions which hitherto should have served as the backbone for social development hinders the growth and progress of the sector. Corruption and bureaucracy affects every business venture including socially aware institutions that seek to improve human living standards in the society. This thus goes a long way to retrogress the striving efforts these organizations make. Also, the non-segregating tax and tariff regime of the country for for-profit businesses and not-for-profit organizations makes it difficult for the proper tax and tariffs to be collected or paid. The Ghana tax system has no provisions for SEs as different entities from commercial businesses, thereby targeting both business entities with the same tax rules and regulations. The exchange rate system is another unfriendly factor that causes budgetary imbalances among SEs. With an inconsistent exchange rate regime in a global world where items are more often than not acquired and purchased across borders which involve the conversion of foreign currencies, it makes it extremely difficult for budget correspondence. Besides, the unequal distribution of the national wealth has caused the skewed nature of resources for the development of some aspects of society. A society where the rich stand the chance of becoming richer and the reverse fairly true, there will also be lagging part of the society unattended to which calls for social interventions. The rate of illiteracy in Ghana has for some good time now been a subject of policy deficient. The high number of unlettered individuals in the middle class is alarming. This 99 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh has been recognized to be a major drawback to our accelerated development (Quist, 1994). Addressing this misnomer will improve the targets of SEs. The fast development of technology has penetrated the activities of both individuals and organizations. It is now very difficult to undertake any project without a linkage or correlation with technological innovations or the advance rate. Technological improvement has a positive influence on the operations of SE’s. This is evidenced in the discussion of the aforementioned cases. Policy therefore needs to factor in the relevance of this development to SE’s in its regulatory framework. 6.7 Future Research Direction For purposes of future study, the study directs that, a quantitative research methodology should be employed to use statistical approach to produce more conclusive results which will allow for generalizations of the findings. Also, the sample size for this research of five social entrepreneurs as respondents could have resulted in skewed data and therefore if it is extended to double digits could bring more informed qualitative data on the concept. Future research can look at social entrepreneurship in single industry as is known to be a multi-industry phenomenon. Also, future research can be extended to the whole country as this was limited to only greater Accra region. 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Management in Africa: Macro and micro perspectives, 53, 9. 110 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Zoogah, D. B., Peng, M. W., & Woldu, H. (2015). Institutions, resources, and organizational effectiveness in Africa. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 29(1), 7-31. 111 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh APPENDIX INTERVIEW GUIDE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA BUSINESS SCHOOL DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP Assessing the Impact of the Ghanaian environment on Social Entrepreneurship Interview Guide I am an MPhil Candidate at the Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship. I am here to have a conversation with you about social entrepreneurship in Ghana. Kindly note that your identity and confidentiality will be strictly protected. The information gathered will be used strictly for the academic purposes. Researcher: Abdul-Rahaman Abdallah Supervisor: Dr. Kwame Adom Personal Data 1. Age: 31-40 [ ] 41-50 [ ] 51-60 [ ] 60+ [ ] Sex: Male [ ] Female [ ] Educational Level: SHS [ ] Diploma [ ] Graduate [ ] Post-Graduate [ ] Social Entrepreneurship Activities 2. What form of social enterprise are you engaged in? 3. How do you engage in it? 4. How often do you engage in the social enterprise activity? 112 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5. Why are you engaged in this business? 6. Name any other social enterprise in Ghana? 7. What is the other social enterprise engaged in? 8. Who are the beneficiaries of your social enterprise? Environmental Factors (Political, Economic, Social and Technological environments) 9. Is the Ghanaian business climate conducive for social entrepreneurship? 10. In your opinion, which of the factors significantly affect social entrepreneurship in Ghana? 11. Is there a link between the success of social entrepreneurship and the factors? 12. Which of the environmental factors motivates you? Political Environment 13. How does the political environment influence the activities of social enterprises in Ghana? 14. Does tax and tariff regimes in Ghana favour social entrepreneurship? 15. Is the political climate in Ghana suitable for social entrepreneurship? 16. Are there policy guidelines on social entrepreneurship in Ghana? Economic Environment 17. Is the exchanged rate affecting your business? 18. How does the economic environment influence the social enterprise firm activities? 19. In what ways does the economic environment influence the social enterprise firm activities? 113 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 20. Rank five (5) economic indicators based on their impact on social enterprises? Social Environment 21. Does the social environment influence the social enterprise firm activities? 22. Does cultural dynamics in Ghana promote social entrepreneurship activities? 23. Is gender (sex) an issue in social entrepreneurship? 24. Is there infrastructure for social entrepreneurship development in Ghana? 25. Is literacy rate of the Ghanaian society significantly affecting social entrepreneurship? 26. Does unequal distribution of wealth gives rise to social entrepreneurship opportunities in Ghana? 27. Does your faith affect how you conduct your business? / Did your religious believe affect your creation and operation of the enterprise? 28. Does the law of the country influence the activities of the enterprise? 29. Was the creation of this enterprise influenced by your economic status? Technological Environment 30. Does the technological environment influence the social enterprise firm activities? 31. Does a technological innovation create new platforms for social entrepreneurship development? 114 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 32. In your opinion, which of these variables of the technological environment affect social entrepreneurship the most? I.e. new discoveries, technological obsolescence rate, technological advance rate, innovative technological platforms. 33. Mention technological factors that affect social entrepreneurship in Ghana? 34. What others issues have influenced your business activities? 115