Institutional configurations and social entrepreneurship: a country-based comparison using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis

Purpose Integrating institutional logic theory with institutional configurational perspective, this study proposes a theoretical framework to explore the configurational effect of multiple institutional logics, including state, market, and social logics, on social entrepreneurship (SE) participation. Design/methodology/approach Using data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey combined with other international databases, this study applies a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to identify the pathways that how state, market and social logics jointly promote or hinder high SE prevalence among 38 developing countries. Findings Results show that high SE prevalence rates are achieved through the interaction of multiple institutional logics rather than by any single factor and identify three institutional configuration pathways leading to high SE participation. Further, the pathways impeding high SE participation are not simply the negation of conditions that lead to high SE prevalence. Research limitations/implications This study not only extends the institutional logics perspective to SE, enriching the growing research stream on how institutional complexity shapes entrepreneurial activities globally, but also underscores the significance of asymmetric institutional conditions in determining the presence and absence of high SE prevalence. These results have implications for policymakers to improve entrepreneurial institutional configurations that foster social entrepreneurial activities. Originality/value Compared with conventional statistical methods, which have limited effectiveness in exploring the synergies of multiple factors, the fsQCA method offers a more robust analysis of the causal complexity of institutional logics promoting or discouraging SE participation.