A Positive Theory of Social Entrepreneurship

The author proposes a theory aimed at advancing scholarly research in social entrepreneurship. By highlighting the key trade-off between value creation and value appropriation and explaining when situations of simultaneous market and government failure may arise, the author suggests that social entrepreneurship is the pursuit of sustainable solutions to problems of neglected positive externalities. The author further discusses when positive externalities are likely to be neglected and derive the central goal and logic of action of social entrepreneurship.