23.08.

2010

The Career Perspective on

Social Entrepreneurship:
Drivers, Capitals, Perception of
Success, Leadership
Seminar on Social Entrepreneurship
European Forum Alpbach 2010

New Career Fields and

Social Entrepreneurship

tight

coupling

loose
stable unstable
2
configuration

1
 23.08.2010

Career Aspirations of Business

School Graduates

tight 1970: 47.6% (30) 1970: 4.8% (3)

1990: 49.7% (92) 1990: 13.5% (25)
2000: 43.8%(365) 2000: 8.2% (68)

coupling

1970: 38.1% (24) 1970: 9.5% (6)

1990: 18.4% (34) 1990: 18.4% (34)
loose 2000: 20.4%(170) 2000: 27.6%(230)

stable unstable
SEITE 3
configuration

New Careers are Unstable

tight 1970: 47.7% (31) 1970: 13.8% (9)

1990: 52.5%(104) 1990: 14.1% (28)
2000: 46.0%(154) 2000: 22.1% (74)

coupling

1970: 32.3% (21) 1970: 6.2% (4)

1990: 18.7% (37) 1990: 14.6% (29)
loose 2000: 11.9% (40) 2000: 20.0% (67)
stable unstable
4 configuration

2
 23.08.2010

Called to work but not for

profit?
Observation

Nonprofit sector as a career field

• Nonprofit careers oscillate between different forms of organizing, e.g.

large organizations and projects, Social enterprises and charities
• Employment contracts are often tied to funding and thus temporary

Which forms of capital are crucial for careers in the NPO sector as a
career field?
Study

• Study: 20 semi-structured interviews with NPO managers & Social

Entrpreneurs, contrast group of FPO managers
• Analysis with NVivo and coding scheme based on Pierre Bourdieu‘s
concept of different forms of capital

FOLIE 5

The Importance of
Career Capitals
How often were the different forms of capital mentioned in
connection with career advancement?
Nonprofits Forprofits

economic
symbolic
3%
symbolic
social

14% 24%
21% 32% cultural
31% economic

34% 41%

cultural
social

Total share: 15,5 % Total share: 14 %

FOLIE 6

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 23.08.2010

How do Career Capitals differ?

In which ways did the different forms of capital affect careers?

NPO manager FPO manager

Cultural capital Lifelong learning Degrees, titles & positions

Social & analytical skills as Specialist knowledge
important as specialist
knowledge
Economic capital Focus on (lack of) organi- Focus on individual earnings
zational economic capital

Social capital Inter-organizational & Intra-organizational & business

friendships contacts
High networking activities Few networking activities
Symbolic capital ‚My organization is my Heterogeneous system of
reputation‘ status symbols
FOLIE 7

Success aspirations of SE &

Nonprofit Managers

• Current thinking about CSOs dominated by clichés, e.g. money-makers

Background

v. do-gooders
• Aim: to provide empirical insight by researching careers as an interface
between individual agency, organisational behaviour and social
structures and conducting comparative study
• This paper: comparison of career success perceptions of for-profit
organisation (FPO) managers and CSO managers.

• 17 semi-structured interviews each with CSO & FPO managers & SE

Study

• Analysis with NVivo, codes analysed for this paper: 10 indicators of

subjective career success discussed in respective literature

FOLIE 8

4
 23.08.2010

Career
Success Subjective Objective
Career Success Career Success

Life Satisfaction Job Satisfaction Career Satisfaction

Internal Work-Life Social Financial

Impact Development Advancement
Compass Balance Comparison Indicators

Media
FOLIE 9 Status Resonance

Success aspirations of CSO

managers

14

12
relative share %

10
FPO
8 CSO

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FOLIE 10

5
 23.08.2010

Success aspirations of CSO

managers: Financial indicators

 FPO managers:
 Trapped by comparison
 Money the “sharp side” of all comparisons ≠ work-life,
personal development, social status
 Money as metric for competence

CSO managers & SE:

 It‟s the organization that counts (more collective
orientation)
 Trade offs income vs. internal compass, etc.
 Money (lack thereof) as metric for idealism
 Money more taboo

FOLIE 11

Success aspirations of CSO

managers: Internal compass

 FPO managers:
 Proving myself as main motivator
 Autonomy and independence key

 CSO managers & SE:

 Greater identification with the job (work centrality)
 Altruism and ethical principles important
 Challenge (flow) particular thrill of job
 Religious motives

FOLIE 12

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 23.08.2010

Transformational Leadership

Individualized Influence
Describes leaders who act as strong role models for followers

Inspirational Motivation
Leaders who communicate high expectations to followers,
inspiring them through motivation to commitment and
engagement in the shared vision of the organization

Intellectual Stimulation
Stimulates followers to be creative and innovative; challenges
their own beliefs and values and those of leader and organization

Individualized Consideration
Leaders who provide a supportive climate in which they listen
carefully
to the needs of followers
SEITE 13

The Importance of
Transformational Leadership
0,8

0,7

0,6

0,5

0,4 subj. Assessment Public/Nonprofit

subj. Assessment forprofit
obj. success Public/Nonprofit
0,3 obj. success forprofit

0,2

0,1

0
Charisma Indiv idualize d Inte lle ctual M bO M bE
Conside ration Stimulation

SEITE 14
-0,1

7
 23.08.2010

Called to work but not for

profit?
What can be learned from the study of NPO & SE careers?

Careers between different forms of organizing…

… are less stable and predictable
… lead to a higher degree of individual reflection about
one„s career
… lead to individual awareness of career capital and to
strategic activities such as networking, lifelong learning
… result in a blurring of boundaries between work and life
due to high importance of social capital
… require a concept such as career capital for insightful
research
FOLIE 15

Lights and Darks of SE Careers

 FPO and CSO sector appear as oriented towards

different and distinct paradigms:
individual/monetary gain v collective benefit/moral values
 Work-life Balance does not play any role for SE
& CSO Managers
 self-sacrifice and underpaid work
 Privileging organizational commitment at the
expense of health, family and other aspects of
social reproduction
(Dempsey/Sanders 2010)

FOLIE 16