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The Effect of Cultural Factors on Social Entrepreneurship: The Impact of the Economic Downturn in Spain

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Entrepreneurship, Regional Development and Culture

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Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the influence of cultural factors on social entrepreneurship in Spain in the context of the recent economic crisis. Data from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and Spanish Statistics Institute (INE) for the period 2005–2010 are used as the main sources of information and a panel data analysis is applied in the empirical part of the research. Through the lens of institutional economics, the main findings of the study suggest that informal factors such as cultural factors “perceived opportunities to create a start-up” and “entrepreneur’s social image” are key drivers of social entrepreneurship during the depression period. This study contributes for the design of policies to foster social entrepreneurial activity as well as for the development of the literature in the social entrepreneurship field.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Regions: Andalusia, Aragon, Principality of Asturias, Balearic Islands, Basque Country, Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castile-La Mancha, Castile and León, Catalonia, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Region of Murcia, Navarre, Valencian Community and Ceuta and Melilla.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support from the projects ECO2013-44027-P (Spanish Ministry of Economy & Competitiveness), ECO/2663/2013 (Economy & Knowledge Department—Catalan Government).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Campus UAB, Building B, Bellaterra, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, 8193, Spain

    Elisabeth Ferri, Maria Noguera & David Urbano

Authors
  1. Elisabeth Ferri
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  2. Maria Noguera
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  3. David Urbano
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Correspondence to Elisabeth Ferri .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Administration, Universitat Politècnica de València Dpto de Org de Empresas, Valencia, Spain

    Marta Peris-Ortiz

  2. University of Chile Dep. Management Control and Information, Santiago, Chile

    José M. Merigó-Lindahl

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Ferri, E., Noguera, M., Urbano, D. (2015). The Effect of Cultural Factors on Social Entrepreneurship: The Impact of the Economic Downturn in Spain. In: Peris-Ortiz, M., Merigó-Lindahl, J. (eds) Entrepreneurship, Regional Development and Culture. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15111-3_5

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