g r e at f a c u l t y
Drawing On Social Motivations
S
tarting your own business is a risky decision. The environment in which entrepreneurs operate is often uncertain, with traditional marketing analyses relying on data that may be unreliable or even unavailable to those launching their own business ventures. As such, many entrepreneurs count on their own past experiences when developing marketing strategies. However, social entrepreneurs, even those in the for-profit sector, tend to lack a solid background in business. VSB Associate Professor of Management and Operations Scott Newbert hypothesized that social entrepreneurs would be less likely than commercial entrepreneurs to apply sound marketing fundamentals when establishing their organizations, predicting they would focus instead on the societal needs they seek to fulfill. Newbert’s assumptions are supported by evidence that for-profit social entrepreneurs are less likely than commercial entrepreneurs to implement a number of best marketing practices. His research intends to provide social entrepreneurs with guidance on how to design and implement an effective marketing strategy, and also aims to influence government policy. Noting the important role for-profit social entrepreneurs play in addressing social needs, Newbert calls on government agencies to broaden their strict focus on non-profits and include for-profit entrepreneurs in federal grant programs designed to stimulate solutions to today’s most pressing social problems. Newbert’s recent research also includes collaborative work with VSB Professors Kevin Clark and Narda Quigley comparing the traits, commitment bases, and goals of social entrepreneurs, as well as another study that examines how the networks of nascent entrepreneurs evolve over time. Newbert’s research has previously been published in the Strategic Management Journal, the Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, and Small Business Economics, for which Newbert was named the Harry Halloran Emerging Scholar in Social Entrepreneurship.
2 villanova school of business
Scott
Newbert, phd Associate Professor, Management and Operations