Professional Documents
Culture Documents
JournalEJTD Rean
JournalEJTD Rean
net/publication/352796764
CITATIONS READS
2 2,029
4 authors:
All content following this page was uploaded by Nur Raihan Che Nawi on 05 August 2021.
Career
Challenges faced by youth social transition to
entrepreneurs in Malaysia: career become a social
entrepreneur
transition to become a
social entrepreneur
Nur Raihan Che Nawi, Mohd Mursyid Arshad, Steven Eric Krauss Received 11 February 2020
Revised 28 October 2020
and Ismi Arif Ismail 26 January 2021
15 February 2021
Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 21 February 2021
Serdang, Malaysia 6 March 2021
8 March 2021
4 May 2021
Accepted 17 May 2021
Abstract
Purpose – The practice of social entrepreneurship has grown rapidly around the world, including in
Malaysia where it is still considered to be at an early stage. Nevertheless, little is known about the career
transition among youth who choose careers as social entrepreneurs. The purpose of this study is to explore
the challenges faced by youth social entrepreneurs who run social enterprises in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach – This study used a qualitative approach to collect and analyse data to
answer the research questions. Seven youth social entrepreneurs were interviewed until data saturation was met. An
interview guide was created for the purposes of conducting the interviews. The interviews were recorded using a
voice recorder. Data were transcribed verbatim and grouped in order to identify the codings, categories and themes.
Findings – The findings show the career transition to become a social entrepreneur, as well as the major
challenges that youth social entrepreneurs face, which include acclimatising to the life and career of a social
entrepreneur and not getting support from family.
Practical implications – The study findings are also significant for presenting valuable data on the
experience of the developing social entrepreneur. The qualitative nature of the study provides valuable
experiential insight into the lives and struggles of young social entrepreneurs in Malaysia. The findings will
allow local authorities and social entrepreneurship regulatory agencies to design initiatives and plan actions
intended to overcome the challenges.
Originality/value – This study makes an original contribution by showing that the process of career
development as a social entrepreneur has given meaning to the informants. Despite presenting many
challenges, social entrepreneurship has reinforced the role of youth social entrepreneurs, especially in relation
to social responsibility.
Keywords Malaysia, Career development, Career transition, Youth development,
Social entrepreneurship activity, Youth social entrepreneur
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
A career as a social entrepreneur has a positive outlook for involving youth in Malaysia.
Even though social entrepreneurship activity is still in its early stages (Farok, 2011;
Conflicting interests: The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,
European Journal of Training and
authorship and/or publication of this article. Development
This work was supported by Universiti Putra Malaysia through GP-IPS Grant, with vote number © Emerald Publishing Limited
2046-9012
9499800. DOI 10.1108/EJTD-02-2020-0021
EJTD Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity, 2015, 2016; Othman and Abd. Wahid, 2014;
Sarif et al., 2013), participation by youth in social entrepreneurship activities in Malaysia is
quite encouraging, with 64% of those engaging in such activities being youth under 40 years
of age. Youth of age 21–30 years have the highest involvement in social entrepreneurship
activities, making up of 37% of all social entrepreneurs (Malaysian Global Innovation and
Creativity, 2016). By comparison, most social entrepreneurs in other countries, such as the
UK, are of age 44–65 years (Villeneuve-Smith and Chung, 2013).
Social entrepreneurs have two roles. First, they conduct social entrepreneurship activities
that are intended to overcome social problems, and second, they use a business to provide
these activities, and this business organisation is known as a social enterprise (Che Nawi,
2018).
An individual passionate about entrepreneurship may embark on a career in it because
of the experience and knowledge gained in their previous career (Burton et al., 2016; Eesley
and Roberts, 2012; Midlane, 2010; Unger et al., 2011). His or her career as an entrepreneur
has been described as a new career opportunity (Inkson et al., 2010), and the decision to
become an entrepreneur can be seen as a career option (Mohamad et al., 2014; Pittino et al.,
2020). A career in entrepreneurship involves an individual deciding to start their own
business (Schreuder et al., 2007). The main reason for an individual deciding to become an
entrepreneur relates to their intention (Fayolle et al., 2014; Krueger, 2017; Renko et al., 2009;
Shaver, 2012) to overcome social problems.
Careers today do not focus solely on promotion within a hierarchical organisation. With
the emergence of the postmodern career within organisations, there is greater career
flexibility. For example, protean careers (Arthur and Rousseau, 2001; Holtschlag, et al., 2020;
Peiperl and Baruch, 1997) are pursued by those who do not want to be tied to any
organisational structure and who want to find meaning that can fulfil their life.
Entrepreneurial activity is a process of finding new opportunities in alternative careers
(Lee and Venkataraman, 2006; Mohamad et al., 2014). Thus, social entrepreneurs act just like
commercial entrepreneurs. What distinguishes them from the latter are their profit motive
(Dees, 1998, 2001) and their greater focus on creating social value (Bacq and Janssen, 2011),
whereby they generate or create mutual good (Murphy and Coombes, 2009; Narangajavana
et al., 2016). Although social entrepreneurs act like commercial entrepreneurs, there is still a
lack of research and discussion on the experience of youth involvement in social
entrepreneurship as a career.
2. Literature review
2.1 Social entrepreneurship as a career
Entrepreneurship can be regarded as a career (Asante and Affum-Osei, 2019; Liguori et al.,
2020; Mohamad et al., 2014). There are positive developments in social entrepreneurship in
Malaysia, where youth social entrepreneurs have switched from the corporate sector to the
social sector, or from commercial businesses to social enterprises (Malaysian Global
Innovation and Creativity, 2015). As a result, a career as a social entrepreneur has attracted
the attention of youth. According to Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity (2016),
61% of social entrepreneurs have backgrounds in the corporate sector, while 36% come
from the social sector and only 3% are fresh graduates. Those interested in social
entrepreneurship should have a foundation in entrepreneurial skills so that their social
enterprises can be successful. According to Hessels et al. (2008), every entrepreneur needs to
have entrepreneurial skills (Bencheva and Stoeva, 2019) if they want to change the world
(Thompson et al., 2017).
2.2 Youth involvement in social entrepreneurship activities in Malaysia Career
Social entrepreneurs’ pattern of career change can be seen either from their involvement in transition to
the social sector or from their transition from commercial business activities to social
become a social
enterprises (Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity, 2015). Social enterprises are here
referred to as business activities that address social or environment issues (Luc, 2020; entrepreneur
Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity, 2015; Seelos, 2014).
By 2020, youth aged 15–40 years are expected to represent 44.7% of the total population
in Malaysia (Economic Planning Unit, 2015). However, the British Council (2018) report
reveals that the percentages of different age categories of youth involved in social
entrepreneurship is as follows: 0% of those aged below 18 years; 7% of those aged 18–
25 years; 12% of those aged 26–30 years; and 36% of those aged 31–40 years. Thus, this
shows that only about 19% of youth aged below 30 years are involved in social
entrepreneurship in Malaysia. The percentage of youth age as a proportion of the total
population is expected to decrease due to the Malaysian Youth Policy’s (2015) definition of
youth as those aged 15–30 years, which was enacted in 2018. Youth play an important role
in the development of the country as future leaders and as agents of change who will
determine Malaysia’s identity and drive national progress. Therefore, it is important to
provide an environment and opportunities that allow them to play a role in national
development (Economic Planning Unit, 2015).
3. Methodology
3.1 Research design
This study used a basic qualitative approach to collect and analyse data to answer the
research questions, which aimed to explore how youth develop careers as social
entrepreneurs in Malaysia. A basic qualitative approach is interested in (1) how people
interpret their experiences; (2) how they construct their worlds; and (3) the meaning they
attribute to their experiences (Merriam and Tisdell, 2016, p. 24). In qualitative research, the
researcher is the main instrument for collecting and analysing data. An interview guide was
created for the purpose of conducting in-depth interviews, which were an opportunity to
explore the challenges facing youth social entrepreneurs. The interviews were recorded
EJTD using a voice recorder to ensure that rich data were obtained. The data were then
transcribed verbatim and analysed into groups so that themes could be identified.
3.2 Sampling
Informants were selected among youth aged 20–30 years who had participated in social
enterprises and social businesses and who worked as social entrepreneur. Information about
the participants was obtained through a website provided by MaGIC, an Internet search,
programme participation, and the snowballing technique. The informants were selected
from different social entrepreneurship sectors, such as economic access and poverty
eradication, education, youth development, women’s issues, and health and nutrition.
Purposive sampling was used, whereby specific criteria for selecting informants were
used. Participants had to (1) have run a social enterprise for a minimum of two years as a
social entrepreneur; (2) be between 20 and 30 years old; (3) be easily contacted; and (4) be
willing to take part in this study. Email, Facebook, telephone and WhatsApp were used to
contact informants. After a participant’s consent had been confirmed, a time, date and venue
were set for the data collection. Before the interview began, the purpose of the study, the
procedure of data collection, and the need for informants to sign a consent form prior to
participating in the study were briefly explained.
After interviews with seven informants, data saturation was reached; in other words,
there was a repetition of data and no new information. According to Merriam and Tisdell
(2016), data saturation is the point at which the researcher realises no new information,
insights, or understanding will be forthcoming.
Theme Category
i) Acclimating to life and career as a social entrepreneur i) reluctant to leave a comfortable position
Table 2. ii) changing working environment
Theme and ii) Not getting the support from family. i) not receive support from parents
categories ii) not receive support from a spouse
success is not measured by material goods. Success is not measured by numbers. So, I always Career
constantly remind them. Success is not measured in any quantitative way, and so on.
transition to
Jeena faced a similar situation whereby her parents had perceptions about her educational become a social
status when she mentioned wanting to leave her career as an analyst: “I think they were a entrepreneur
little bit sceptical at the beginning, you know when you’ve gone abroad, then coming back;
why I just want to be a teacher, then to be a social entrepreneur[. . .]”. Mateen, who had
worked for fives year in an NGO as a social entrepreneur, reported a similar response from
her parents:
My parents actually, when I finished my university, they started to be happy. But my mum, she
personally wants me to become a lecturer. It’s typical parents, to work with the government, all
that. I understand that. But I can see along the way when I was at ourDream, she said, ‘Eh, you
don’t want to apply as lecturer, is that it? There’s still [a place] for a language teacher.’ So, I can
see the inclinations there. But when I have been around ourDream, let’s say now five years, she
can already see my development, I don’t think my mum knows exactly what I do at ourDream.
Because mostly parents, they don’t understand the scope of work that the NGO do, all of that.
While Rose, who had run the social enterprise for fives year, also faced not getting the
support from the family:
So, I said like very hard for me, I mean I’m spending money, of course at that time 2013, 2014
really bad for me because I don’t have really much money. That time I’m still on my own. Because
I found my partner only in July 2015 when I start to form a social enterprise. But before that, all
by myself. So, I have like, no money. My family doesn’t know my problem. I never talk to my
husband about my challenges, because he does not support me.
5. Discussion
This study addressed an important topic relating to social entrepreneurship activities and
career development by exploring the challenges faced by youth social entrepreneurs. The
subject is important because 64% of social entrepreneurs are youth. The results of this
study show that among the challenges faced by youth social entrepreneurs is career
transition to becoming a social entrepreneur. In particular, two categories have been
identified within that theme: acclimatising to the life and career of a social entrepreneur, and
not getting support from family.
The informants in this study shared the experiences they faced as they developed their
careers as social entrepreneurs. Irika, Lily, Betty, Jeena, Mateen and Selva chose to be social
entrepreneurs due to their experience of life events. For example, Irika, who had previously
held a stable position in the banking sector, was willing to leave her luxurious life to choose
a career that gave her satisfaction. Similarly, Lily was initially reluctant to relinquish her
position and the benefits she received from her previous company, but she prepared herself
by attending courses and appointing a coach before becoming a social entrepreneur. Betty,
on the other hand, experienced a shift in the working environment: she had previously
worked as a schoolteacher in rural areas, which involved working with many people. While
Irika, Lily, Betty, Mateen and Selva chose to be social entrepreneurs, they also faced initial
challenges in the transition from their previous careers to their new careers as social
entrepreneurs.
The career transitions of Irika, Lily, Betty, Mateen and Selva can be categorised as
subjective career choices. A subjective career is one driven by personal desire (Arthur et al.,
2005; Arthur and Rousseau, 2001; DeFillippi and Arthur, 1994, 1996; Sullivan, 1999). By
overcoming the challenges of acclimatising to the life and career of a social entrepreneur,
EJTD Irika, Lily, Betty, Mateen and Selva had acquired personal meaning and satisfaction in their
social entrepreneurship activities.
The lack of support from family was an early challenge for Irika, Jeena, Mateen and Rose
as they embarked on their careers as social entrepreneurs. For example, Irika did not receive
support from her parents as she was leaving a career with a good position and salary. Thus,
when Irika became a social entrepreneur, her salary was lower than that she had received in
the banking sector, which led to her parents not supporting her social entrepreneurship
activities. Jeena, on the other hand, did not receive family support because her parents were
sceptical of her choice and had high career expectations for their daughter, who was a
graduate from overseas. The approaches taken by Irika and Jeena to overcome these
challenges differed. Irika explained to her family the satisfaction she got from her career so
that they would be more willing to accept and support her. Jeena’s parents became more
accepting as their daughter’s social entrepreneurship activities bloomed and Jeena achieved
more success, which was often reported in newspapers and other media. This success gave
her parents confidence that Jeena had made a good choice of career, so they increasingly
gave their full support to it. Mateen and Rose also used the same approach as Irika and
Jeena, where both of them explained this career gives them satisfaction in terms of helping
other people to their family.
Challenges such as not getting support from families may have impacted the informants’
motivation when they were developing careers as social entrepreneurs. This is because
social entrepreneurs need emotional support from family members (Davidsson and Honig,
2003; Omorede, 2014; Prabhu, 1999; Rajani and Sarada, 2008). As mentioned above,
Omorede (2014) identified emotional and physical support from social networks as
important for social entrepreneurs. For example, Irika, Mateen and Rose did not receive
support from his/her family to become a social entrepreneur, but he/she had a good friend as
well as the head of social entrepreneurship activities who gave his/her full support to
become a social entrepreneur. It can be argued that Irika, Jeena, Mateen and Rose had the
intention and passion when choosing a career in the social entrepreneurship field. Although
they did not initially receive family support, they did receive strong support and
encouragement from their friends or employers, and this helped them to establish their
careers as social entrepreneurs.
This study contributes to the literature on HRD and career development, as well as to the
understanding of social entrepreneurship activities. It deepens our knowledge of the career
development process by which youth social entrepreneurs shape their careers and achieve
their social and environmental goals. Even HRD and social entrepreneurship share similar
core values and missions, there are a few studies relating to HRD and social
entrepreneurship. For example, Wang (2012) focussing on organisational development of
social entrepreneurship, while this study focuses on career development, and still lacking
study on training and development.
The findings of the study provide empirical data on how youth faced challenges in terms
of career transition to become a social entrepreneur. As discussed above, MaGIC and
myHarapan provide training and develop individuals’ knowledge and skills to prepare them
for social entrepreneurship. Therefore, the researcher suggests further research to
understand the forms of training and development this agency provides, how the training
and development process helps career development as social entrepreneurs and how
learning transfers among social entrepreneurs after they attend these trainings. These
suggestions due to this study’s limitations which are focussed on career development
among youth social entrepreneurs instead of exploring training and development as well as
organisational development.
6. Conclusion Career
The findings of this study show that the career transition to becoming a social entrepreneur transition to
encounters two important challenges: acclimatising to the life and career of a social
become a social
entrepreneur and not getting support from family. These are new discoveries on this topic.
The findings also show that the challenges became a valuable learning process for the entrepreneur
informants in developing their careers, with the result that the process of career
development as a social entrepreneur gave meaning to the informants.
These findings have implications: future social entrepreneurs must be aware early in the
career development process of the need to be prepared for the career transition if they are coming
from a different background into social entrepreneurship. Moreover, they must be mentally and
physically prepared to face various challenges. As mentioned before, social entrepreneurship is a
high-risk career. At the same time, youth social entrepreneurship activity reinforces social
responsibility. Based on these finding, it is to be hoped that authorities, such as the Ministry of
Youth and Sports, and social entrepreneur regulatory agencies in Malaysia, such as MaGIC,
myHarapan, Malaysian Innovation Foundation, British Council, my Hope, Scope Group,
Tandemic, and the Social Enterprise Alliance, will look to empower youth social entrepreneurs in
Malaysia by helping them to overcome the challenges presented by career transition.
Implication of practice: the aim of this study was to explore the challenges faced by youth
social entrepreneurs in Malaysia. It provides rare empirical data on the career development
of young Malaysian social entrepreneurs, with a focus on the challenges faced by young
people embarking on what many consider to be a high-risk career. The study findings are
also significant for presenting valuable data on the experience of the developing social
entrepreneur. The qualitative nature of the study provides valuable experiential insight into
the lives and struggles of young social entrepreneurs in Malaysia. The findings will allow
local authorities, such as the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and social entrepreneurial
regulatory agencies to design initiatives and plan actions intended to overcome the
challenges currently faced by youth social entrepreneurs.
Another important implication of our study derives from the originality of our findings
regarding career development among youth social entrepreneurs. The British Council (2018)
report shows the challenges for social entrepreneurs relating to running and managing a
social enterprise. However, our findings point to a specific challenge in terms of career
development among youth social entrepreneurs.
References
Arthur, M.B. and Rousseau, D.M. (2001), The Boundaryless Career: A New Employment Principle for a
New Organizational Era, Oxford University Press on Demand.
Arthur, M.B., Khapova, S.N. and Wilderom, C.P. (2005), “Career success in a boundaryless career
world”, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 177-202.
Asante, E.A. and Affum-Osei, E. (2019), “Entrepreneurship as a career choice: the impact of locus of
control on aspiring entrepreneurs’ opportunity recognition”, Journal of Business Research,
Vol. 98, pp. 227-235.
Ashour, S. (2016), “Social and business entrepreneurship as career options for university students in the
United Arab Emirates: the drive–preparedness gap”, Cogent Education, Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 1-18.
Austin, J., Stevenson, H. and Wei- Skillern, J. (2006), “Social and commercial entrepreneurship: same,
different, or both?”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 30 No. 1, pp. 1-22.
Bacq, S. and Janssen, F. (2011), “The multiple faces of social entrepreneurship: a review of definitional
issues based on geographical and thematic criteria”, Entrepreneurship and Regional
Development, Vol. 23 Nos 5/6, pp. 373-403.
EJTD Bailey, J.M. (2012), “Committed to entrepreneurial activity and social mission: what is the experience of
social entrepreneurship?”, Doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA,
available at: http://conservancy.umn,edu/handle/11299/164692
Bandinelli, C. (2019), Social Entrepreneurship and Neoliberalism: Making Money While Doing Good,
Rowman and Littlefield International.
Baron, R.A. (2006), “Opportunity recognition as pattern recognition: how entrepreneurs ‘connect the
dots’ to identify new business opportunities”, Academy of Management Perspectives, Vol. 20
No. 1, pp. 104-119.
Bencheva, N. and Stoeva, T. (2019), “The role of management skills in social entrepreneurship: expert
assessment”, Knowledge International Journal, Vol. 30 No. 6, pp. 1593-1598.
Bewayo, E.D. and Portes, L.S.V. (2016), “Environmental factors for social entrepreneurship success:
Comparing four regions”, American Journal of Management, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 39-56.
Blalock, G., Kochhar-Bryant, C.A., Test, D.W., Kohler, P., White, W., Lehmann, J. and Patton, J. (2003),
“The need for comprehensive personnel preparation in transition and career development: a
position statement of the division on career development and transition”, Career Development
for Exceptional Individuals, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 207-226.
Braun, G. (2011), “Evaluating international entrepreneurship training programmes intercultural
concepts and practical experiences in developing countries”, Methoden Und Qualität in
Gründungslehre, Gründungscoaching Und Gründungsberatung, J. Eul Verlag, Lohmar,
Rheinland.
British Council (2018), “The state of social enterprise in Malaysia”, available at: www.britishcouncil.
org/sites/default/files/the_state_of_social_enterprise_in_malaysia_british_council_low_res.pdf
Brown, D. (2002), “The role of work and cultural values in occupational choice, satisfaction, and
success: a theoretical statement”, Journal of Counseling and Development, Vol. 80 No. 1,
pp. 48-56.
Brown, D. and Crace, R.K. (1996), “Values in life role choices and outcomes: a conceptual model”, The
Career Development Quarterly, Vol. 44 No. 3, pp. 211-223.
Burton, M.D., Sørensen, J.B. and Dobrev, S.D. (2016), “A careers perspective on entrepreneurship”,
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 40 No. 2, pp. 237-247.
Byrne, N. (2007), “Factors influencing the selection of speech pathology as a career: a qualitative
analysis utilising the systems theory framework”, Australian Journal of Career Development,
Vol. 16 No. 3, pp. 11-18.
Caldwell, K., Parker Harris, S. and Renko, M. (2020), “Inclusive management for social entrepreneurs
with intellectual disabilities: ‘how they act’”, Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual
Disabilities, Vol. 33 No. 2, pp. 204-218.
Che Nawi, N.R. (2018), “Meneroka pengalaman keterlibatan belia dalam kerjaya usahawan sosial di
Lembah Klang, Malaysia”, Doctoral Dissertation, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang.
Commission Expert Group on Social Entrepreneurship (2016), “Social enterprises and the social
economy going forward: a call for action from the commission expert group on social
entrepreneurship (GECES)”, European Commission, Brussels, available at: http://gsgii.org/
reports/social-enterprises-and-the-social-economy-going-forward/
Creswell, J.W. and Poth, C. (2018), Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five
Approaches, 4th ed., Sage Publications Inc, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Davidsson, P. and Honig, B. (2003), “The role of social and human capital among nascent
entrepreneurs”, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 301-331.
Dees, J.G. (1998), “Enterprising nonprofits”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 76, pp. 54-69.
Dees, J.G. (2001), “The meaning of social entrepreneurship”, available at: http://entrepreneurship.duke.
edu/news-item/the-meaning-of-socialentrepreneurship/
DeFillippi, R.J. and Arthur, M.B. (1994), “The boundaryless career: a competency-based perspective”, Career
Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 307-324.
transition to
DeFillippi, R.J. and Arthur, M.B. (1996), “Boundaryless contexts and careers: a competency-based
perspective”, in Michael, B.A. and Denise, M.R. (Eds), The Boundaryless Career: A New
become a social
Employment Principle for a New Organizational Era, Oxford University Press, New York, NY, entrepreneur
pp. 116-131.
Dhesi, A.S. (2010), “Diaspora, social entrepreneurs and community development”, International Journal
of Social Economics, Vol. 37 No. 9, pp. 703-716.
Economic Planning Unit (2015), “Eleventh Malaysia plan 2016-2020”, Economic Planning Unit, Prime
Minister’s Department.
Eesley, C.E. and Roberts, E.B. (2012), “Are you experienced or are you talented?: when does innate
talent versus experience explain entrepreneurial performance?”, Strategic Entrepreneurship
Journal, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 207-219.
Farok, Z. (2011), “Social enterprise in Malaysia: the Umk experience”, In paper Presented At The Asian
Solidarity Economy Forum, Seri Lily Suites (Menara Pgrm), Kuala Lumpur.
Fayolle, A., Liñan, F. and Moriano, J.A. (2014), “Beyond entrepreneurial intentions: values and
motivations in entrepreneurship”, International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal,
Vol. 10 No. 4, pp. 679-689.
Ferri, E. and Urbano, D. (2010), “Environmental factors and social entrepreneurship”, available at:
https://ddd.uab.cat/record/67585
Guclu, A., Dees, J.G. and Anderson, B.B. (2002), “The process of social entrepreneurship: creating
opportunities worthy of serious pursuit”, Center for the Advancement of Social
Entrepreneurship, Vol. 1, pp. 1-15.
Harding, J. (2019), Qualitative Data Analysis: From Start to Finish, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Hariyaty, A.W. (2014), “Keusahawanan sosial, daya tahan dan daya saing pelajar institusi pengajian
tinggi di Malaysia”, Doctoral dissertation, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi.
Haugh, H. (2007), “Community–led social venture creation”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice,
Vol. 31 No. 2, pp. 161-182.
Hessels, J., Van Gelderen, M. and Thurik, R. (2008), “Entrepreneurial aspirations, motivations, and their
drivers”, Small Business Economics, Vol. 31 No. 3, pp. 323-339.
Hibbert, S.A., Hogg, G. and Quinn, T. (2002), “Consumer response to social entrepreneurship: the case of
the big issue in Scotland”, International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing,
Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 288-301.
Holland, J.L. (1997), Making Vocational Choices: A Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work
Environments, Psychological Assessment Resources.
Holland, J.L., Powell, A.B. and Fritzsche, B.A. (1994), The Self-Directed Search (SDS), Psychological
Assessment Resources, Odessa, FL.
Holtschlag, C., Masuda, A.D., Reiche, B.S. and Morales, C. (2020), “Why do millennials stay in their
jobs? The roles of protean career orientation, goal progress and organizational career
management”, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol. 118, p. 103366.
Humphris, G.K. (2017), “Motivations of social entrepreneurs”, Journal of Huddersfield Student Research,
Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 1-15.
Inkson, K., Ganesh, S., Roper, J. and Gunz, H. (2010), “The boundaryless career: a productive concept that
may have outlived its usefulness”, Academy of Management Proceedings, Vol. 2010 No. 1, pp. 1-6.
Ismail, Y. and Sarwar, A.A.M. (2013), “Creating wealth through social entrepreneurship: a case study
from Malaysia”, Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Research, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 345-353.
Kirzner, I.M. (1997), “Entrepreneurial discovery and the competitive market process: an Austrian
approach”, Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 35 No. 1, pp. 60-85.
EJTD Kirzner, I.M. (1999), “Creativity and/or alertness: a reconsideration of the Schumpeterian entrepreneur”,
The Review of Austrian Economics, Vol. 11 Nos 1/2, pp. 5-17.
Krueger, N.F. (2017), “Entrepreneurial intentions are dead: long live entrepreneurial intentions”,
Revisiting the Entrepreneurial Mind, Springer, Cham, pp. 13-34.
Lee, J.H. and Venkataraman, S. (2006), “Aspirations, market offerings, and the pursuit of
entrepreneurial opportunities”, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 107-123.
Lent, R.W., Brown, S.D. and Hackett, G. (1994), “Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career
and academic interest, choice, and performance”, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol. 45 No. 1,
pp. 79-122.
Lent, R.W., Brown, S.D. and Hackett, G. (2002), “Social cognitive career theory”, Career Choice and
Development, Vol. 4, pp. 255-311.
Li, C.C. (2010), Social Entreprie and Economic Development Notes, SEED 1 UMK, Pantai Seri Tujuh,
Tumpat.
Liguori, E., Winkler, C., Vanevenhoven, J., Winkel, D. and James, M. (2020), “Entrepreneurship as a
career choice: intentions, attitudes, and outcome expectations”, Journal of Small Business and
Entrepreneurship, Vol. 32 No. 4, pp. 311-331.
Louis, M.R. (1982), “Managing career transition: a missing link in career development”, Organizational
Dynamics, Vol. 10 No. 4, pp. 68-77.
Luc, P.T. (2020), “Outcome expectations and social entrepreneurial intention: integration of planned
behavior and social cognitive career theory”, The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and
Business, Vol. 7 No. 6, pp. 399-407.
McCrae, R.R. and John, O.P. (1992), “An introduction to the five- factor model and its applications”,
Journal of Personality, Vol. 60 No. 2, pp. 175-215.
McLagan, P.A. (1989), “Models for HRD practice”, Training and Development Journal, Vol. 43 No. 9,
pp. 49-60.
McLean, G.N. and McLean, L. (2001), “If we can’t define HRD in one country, how can we define it in an
international context?”, Human Resource Development International, Vol. 4 No. 3, pp. 313-326.
Malaysia Youth Policy (2015), Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia, Kementerian Belia dan Sukan
Malaysia, Putrajaya.
Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity (2015), “Malaysian social entrepreneurship blueprint 2015 –
2018. Unleashing the power of social entrepreneurship”.
Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity (2016), “State of social enterprise in Malaysia 2014/2015”.
Martin, R.L. and Osberg, S. (2007), “Social entrepreneurship: the case for definition”, Stanford Social
Innovation Review, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 28-39.
Merriam, S.B. and Tisdell, E.J. (2016), Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation, John
Wiley and Sons.
Midlane, R. (2010), “Mid-Career management transition: from corporate manager to entrepreneur”,
Doctoral Dissertation, University Of Pretoria.
Miller-Tiedeman, A. and Tiedeman, D.V. (1990), “Career decision making: an individualistic
perspective”, Career Choice and Development: Applying Contemporary Theories to Practice,
Vol. 2, pp. 308-337.
Mitchell, L.K. (1990), “Social learning approach to career decision making: Krumboltz’s theory”, Career
Choice and Development: Applying Contemporary Theories to Practice, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 145-196.
Mitchell, L.K. (1996), “Krumboltz’s learning theory of career choice and counselling”, Career Choice and
Development, Vol. 3, pp. 233-280.
Mohamad, N., Lim, H.E., Yusof, N., Kassim, M. and Abdullah, H. (2014), “Estimating the choice of
entrepreneurship as a career: the case of Universiti Utara Malaysia”, International Journal of
Business and Society, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 65-80.
Motulsky, S.L. (2010), “Relational processes in career transition: extending theory, research, and Career
practice”, The Counseling Psychologist, Vol. 38 No. 8, pp. 1078-1114.
transition to
Murphy, P.J. and Coombes, S.M. (2009), “A model of social entrepreneurial discovery”, Journal of
Business Ethics, Vol. 87 No. 3, pp. 325-336.
become a social
Narangajavana, Y., Gonzalez-Cruz, T., Garrigos-Simon, F.J. and Cruz-Ros, S. (2016), “Measuring social
entrepreneur
entrepreneurship and social value with leakage. Definition, analysis and policies for the
hospitality industry”, International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Vol. 12 No. 3,
pp. 911-934.
North, J. and Lavallee, D. (2004), “An investigation of potential users of career transition services in the
United Kingdom”, Psychology of Sport and Exercise, Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 77-84.
Omorede, A. (2014), “Exploration of motivational drivers towards social entrepreneurship”, Social
Enterprise Journal, Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 239-267.
Othman, N. and Abd. Wahid, H. (2014), “Social entrepreneurship among participants in the students in
free enterprise program”, Education þ Training, Vol. 56 Nos 8/9, pp. 852-869.
Patton, M.Q. (2015), Qualitative Research and Methods: Integrating Theory and Practice, SAGE
Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Patton, W. and McMahon, M. (Eds) (2014), Career Development and Systems Theory: Connecting
Theory and Practice, 3rd ed., Sense Publishers, Rotterdam.
Peiperl, M. and Baruch, Y. (1997), “Back to square zero: the post-corporate career”, Organizational
Dynamics, Vol. 25 No. 4, pp. 7-22.
Peterson, G.W., Sampson, J.P., Jr and Reardon, R.C. (1991), Career Development and Services: A
Cognitive Approach, Thomson Brooks/Cole Publishing Co.
Pittino, D., Chirico, F., Baù, M., Villasana, M., Naranjo-Priego, E.E. and Barron, E. (2020), “Starting a
family business as a career option: the role of the family household in Mexico”, Journal of Family
Business Strategy, Vol. 11 No. 2, p. 100338.
Prabhu, G.N. (1999), “Social entrepreneurial leadership”, Career Development International, Vol. 4 No. 3,
pp. 140-145.
Radin Siti Aisyah, R.A.R., Zaidatol Akmaliah, L.P., Suhaida, A.K. and Soaib, A. (2013), Potensi
Keusahawanan Sosial di Malaysia. Proceedings of the Seminar Penyelidikan Pendidikan and
Pembangunan Sumber Manusia, October 10, Faculty of Educational Studies.; Universiti Putra
Malaysia, Serdang.
Rajani, N. and Sarada, D. (2008), “Women entrepreneurship and support systems”, Studies on Home
and Community Science, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 107-112.
Renko, M., Carsrud, A. and Brännback, M. (2009), “The effect of a market orientation, entrepreneurial
orientation, and technological capability on innovativeness: a study of young biotechnology
ventures in the United States and in Scandinavia”, Journal of Small Business Management,
Vol. 47 No. 3, pp. 331-369.
Roberts, D. and Woods, C. (2005), “Changing the world on a shoestring: the concept of social
entrepreneurship”, University of Auckland Business Review, Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 45-51.
Sarif, S.M., Sarwar, A. and Ismail, Y. (2013), “Practice of social entrepreneurship among the Muslim
entrepreneurs in Malaysia”, Middle East Journal of Scientific Research, Vol. 14 No. 11,
pp. 1463-1470.
Savickas, M. and Lent, R.W. (Eds) (1994), Convergence in Career Development Theories: Implications for
Science and Practice, Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto.
Schreuder, D., Tladinyane, R. and Coetzee, M. (2007), “Organisational commitment and its relation to
career anchors”, Southern African Business Review, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 65-86.
Seelos, C. (2014), “Theorising and strategising with models: generative models of social enterprises”,
International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 6-21.
EJTD Shane, S. (2000), “Prior knowledge and the discovery of entrepreneurial opportunities”, Organization
Science, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 448-469.
Shaver, K.G. (2012), The Attribution of Blame: Causality, Responsibility, and Blameworthiness, Springer
Science and Business Media.
Silverman, D. (2013), Doing Qualitative Research: A Practical Handbook, Sage Publications Inc,
Thousand Oaks.
Stoltz, K.B. and Young, T.L. (2013), “Applications of motivational interviewing in career counseling:
facilitating career transition”, Journal of Career Development, Vol. 40 No. 4, pp. 329-346.
Stošic-Mihajlovic, L. and Nikolic, M. (2017), “Social entrepreneurship supported by creative economy”,
Ekonomika, Vol. 63 No. 4, pp. 75-88.
Sullivan, S.E. (1999), “The changing nature of careers: a review and research agenda”, Journal of
Management, Vol. 25 No. 3, pp. 457-484.
Super, D.E. (1953), “A theory of vocational development”, American Psychologist, Vol. 8 No. 5,
pp. 185-190.
Super, D.E. (1957), The Psychology of Careers; an Introduction to Vocational Development, Harper and
Bros, Oxford.
Super, D.E. (1990), “A life-span, life-space approach to career development”, in Brown, D. and Brooks, L.
(Eds), The Jossey-Bass Management Series and the Jossey-Bass Social and Behavioral Science
Series. Career Choice and Development: Applying Contemporary Theories to Practice, Jossey-
Bass, San Francisco, CA, pp. 197-261.
Tang, J., Kacmar, K.M. and Busenitz, L. (2009), “A social cognition view of alertness in the discovery
process of entrepreneurial opportunities”, Academy of Management Proceedings, Briarcliff
Manor, New York, NY, Academy of Management, Vol. 2009, No. 1, pp. 1-6.
Thompson, M., Mawson, S. and Martin, F. (2017), Social Entrepreneurs: Can They Change the World?,
Palgrave.
Tina, K. (2015), “Youth social enterpreneurship advancing the field”, available at: www.researchgate.net/
profile/Tina_Kruse/publication/281686467_Youth_Social_Entrepreneurship_Advancing_the_Field/
links/55f4901f08ae1d980394bfac/Youth-SocialEntrepreneurship-Advancing-the-Field.pdf
Unger, J.M., Rauch, A., Frese, M. and Rosenbusch, N. (2011), “Human capital and entrepreneurial
success: a meta-analytical review”, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 341-358.
UNICEF (2007), “Adolescents and civic engagement: social entrepreneurship and young people”,
available at: www.unicef.org/Learning_Series_3_Social_Entrepreneurship_24dec2007.pdf
United Nations (2020), “Youth social entrepreneurship and the agenda 2030”, available at: www.un.org/
development/desa/youth/wpcontent/uploads/sites/21/2020/07/2020-World-Youth-Report-FULL-FINAL.
pdf
Villeneuve-Smith, F. and Chung, C. (2013), Social Enterprise UK: The People’s Business, Social
Enterprise UK, London.
Wang, J. (2012), “HRD for societal development: what can we learn from social entrepreneurship in the
developing world?”, Advances in Developing Human Resources, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 305-317.
Yitshaki, R. and Kropp, F. (2015), “Entrepreneurial passions and identities among high-tech and social
entrepreneurs”, Academy of Management Proceedings, Vol. 2015 No. 1, p. 17305.
Zainol, F.A., Daud, W.N.W., Abdullah, Z. and Yaacob, M.R. (2014), “Social entrepreneurship and
organizational effectiveness: the way forward to solve urban poverty”, International Conference
on Business, Law and Corporate Social Responsibility, pp. 111-116.
Appendix 1 Career
transition to
Theme: become a social
Acclimating to life and career as a social entrepreneur entrepreneur
Category: “I made the decision myself to strip away everything that I had. I sold my
let go of previous luxurious house, I used the existing car that I had, I stopped working. I did not wait for
life the bonus ever. My position, whatever I put aside. This is adjustment, its
humanity. We cannot, you cannot live luxuriously. . .”. (Irika)
“To leave the position was not an easy decision because I was in the comfort
zone. And I got the opportunity to travel worldwide, because it was an
international company and they always have meetings overseas. To let go of
this position was a very big decision to make.” (Lily)
Category: “Yes, you know when you work, because I always work with people, work with
changing working students. And then suddenly, I’m like all alone.” (Betty)
environment “Single mother has a lot of the issue, you know that they have a personal issue,
as a social entrepreneur I have to understand them at the same time I have to
make sure social enterprise have to sustainable. It’s not easy to adapt, because
before this I can say, I am old fashion businessman, where money is the king”
(Selva)
Theme:
Not getting the support from family
Category: “Like that, my parents have a successful daughter. So, they’ve seen me in the
Not getting the support corporate world. When they compared the two lives, different right? She asked,
from parents ‘How long do you want to work with the Islamic Bonding, why not go
somewhere, you do not want to migrate oversea? So, here’s what it means, we
have a role to educate, because of the other generation gap. To educate that
success is not measured by material goods. Success is not measured by
numbers. So, I always constantly remind them. Success is not measured in any
quantitative way, and so on” (Irika)
“I think they were a little bit sceptical at the beginning, you know when you’ve
gone abroad, then coming back; why I just want to be a teacher, then to be a
social entrepreneur. . .”. (Jeena)
“My parents actually, when I finished my university, they started to be happy.
But my mum, she personally wants me to become a lecturer. It’s typical
parents, to work with the government, all that. I understand that. But I can see
along the way when I was at ourDream, she said, ‘Eh, you don’t want to apply
as lecturer, is that it? There’s still [a place] for a language teacher.’ So, I can see
the inclinations there. But when I have been around ourDream, let’s say now
five years, she can already see my development, I don’t think my mum knows
exactly what I do at ourDream. Because mostly parents, they don’t understand
the scope of work that the NGO do, all of that.” (Mateen)
Category: “So, I said like very hard for me, I mean I’m spending money, of course at that
Not getting the support time 2013, 2014 really bad for me because I don’t have really much money. That
from a spouse time I’m still on my own. Because I found my partner only in July 2015 when I
start to form a social enterprise. But before that, all by myself. So, I have like, Table A1.
no money. My family doesn’t know my problem. I never talk to my husband Table of extract to
about my challenges, because he does not support me.” (Rose) match the theme
EJTD Appendix 2. Interview Protocol
Research title: exploring the involvement experience of youth social entrepreneurs in the Klang
Valley, Malaysia.
Explain to the informant:
a) Thank the informants for their willingness to share information
b) The purpose of the interview, how it will be conducted, and how long it will be taking time.
c) Data will be kept confidential and used for research purposes
d) Ask permission to record the interview
1. Social entrepreneur background:
Name, age, where do you live, married status?
What are you doing now?
Working as what? (current job)
What is your role in this social enterprise?
2. Social enterprise background:
Can you share the history of the establishment of social enterprise?
Target groups, services/products, conditions of service recipients/products? Why choose this
target group?
How does this social enterprise operate? Service? Skills?
How to generate income for this social enterprise?
3. Challenges and obstacles as social entrepreneur:
What are the challenges and obstacles in social entrepreneurship activities?
challenges in terms of the family? Spouse?
How to divide time to the current job, social entrepreneurs and family?
What else do you face challenges as social entrepreneur?
Corresponding author
Nur Raihan Che Nawi can be contacted at: raihannurche@gmail.com
For instructions on how to order reprints of this article, please visit our website:
www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/licensing/reprints.htm
Or contact us for further details: permissions@emeraldinsight.com