Purpose: This study aims to explore the characteristics and backgrounds of social entrepreneurs, particularly in relation to what motivates them to start new social ventures, through an empirical examination of the phenomenon of social entrepreneurship in the specific context of Egypt.Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a qualitative methodological approach based on a triangulation of data sources, including extensive interviews from five social entrepreneurs, interviews with senior executives in their organisations and industry experts, as well as secondary data.Findings: The paper proposes a model that integrates common characteristics and motivations among individuals who start social ventures. Findings confirm the characteristics of social entrepreneurs as compassionate risk-takers with entrepreneurial mindsets who seek to address social issues in innovative ways. They also have the perseverance to face the inefficient institutional frameworks prevalent in developing economies. Social entrepreneurs are motivated by social problems and challenges, inspiration, and previous personal experiences, as well as their social networks.Research limitations/implications: There are limitations pertaining to the limited sample size and single country focus.Practical implications: This research offers useful and practical insights for current and future social entrepreneurs, particularly in developing economies. Moreover, the study contributes to expanding future research on social entrepreneurship in similar contexts.Originality/value: This study makes several contributions to the literature on social entrepreneurship. First, by presenting an integrated model for the characteristics/traits and motivations of social entrepreneur. Second, it provides deeper understanding of social entrepreneurship in emerging economies. Third, it highlights the importance of personal inspiration and informal social networks as two sources of motivation for social entrepreneurs, in emerging countries.

Sustainable consumerism is a topic that is still being explored and developed across nations and countries. A new generation of consumers and the world’s future leaders—Generation Z—have already begun to change the marketing and consumer landscape and have accelerated the means to achieve sustainable development. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Generation Z remains unexplored and ambiguous. The purpose of this article is to gain an understanding of the behavioral aspects of the Egyptian Generation Z, their consumerism, ecological consciousness, and corporate expectations. This exploratory research adopted qualitative methods using in-depth semi-structured interviews with a selected sample of participants representing the Egyptian Generation Z. The findings reveal an infantile but informed and reactive market of consumers whose acts of marketing and branding decisions contribute to reaching corporate sustainability, despite the fact they are viewed as nescient in the broader global community. This research provides the first evidence on the Egyptian Generation Z and their behavior towards sustainable consumerism in a new context of developing countries.

The process of resource mobilisation is fundamental in the creation of social value. However, the evidence that examines the approaches used by social entrepreneurs to mobilise critical resources in an environment with poor resources is limited. This study empirically explores social bricolage in the new research context of developing countries, building on the notion of ‘social bricolage’). This abductive, multiple-case study adopts the qualitative methodological approach, using empirical data on five social enterprises in Egypt through in-depth interviews with industry experts, social entrepreneurs, and other management teams. Our study advances scholarly understanding of social bricolage by examining resource mobilisation processes over time in the resource-scarce context of developing countries. Our analysis traces the six social bricolage constructs: making do, refusal to be constrained by limitations, improvisation, the creation of social value, stakeholder participation, and persuasion and community involvement. Our empirical data identifies three more constructs associated with social bricolage: distributed leadership/teamwork, dynamic capabilities, and legitimacy (trust and reputation).

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has a desire to include more people in entrepreneurship, especially women, youth, and unemployed. The question here is, how are gender, age, and occupation affecting entry, including entry pulled by opportunity and pushed by necessity? The study analyses a large representative sample of adults around MENA, surveyed by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Analyses show in detail how occupations depend on gender and age, and show the potential for turning intention into upstarts, especially in disadvantaged segments. Policies for entrepreneurship in MENA may utilise some of the findings. Notably, the study shows that inclusion of women, youth, and unemployed may be potentially be considerably enhanced through policies. These disadvantaged segments frequently intend to become entrepreneurs, but they tend not to enact their vocational intents.

In recent times, various crises have negatively affected the financial stability, job security, and health of countless individuals. According to research, different factors that operate at both the individual and contextual levels can play a prominent role in influencing people's self-employment during periods of economic downturn. This study investigates the changes in the likelihood of self-employment by gender and age across various contexts following sudden shocks. By analyzing the intersection of occupational choice and business cycle theories, this research offers insights into how crises affect people's ability to work for themselves. Using a sample of over 250,000 individuals from sixteen countries and applying a multilevel binary logistic regression analysis, the results confirm that women and older individuals are less inclined to be self-employed in general. However, unexpected economic recessions may lead to a slight increase in their likelihood of self-employment. Furthermore, when women and seniors live in a higher GDP per capita context, this context positively moderates the relationship between gender, age, and the propensity for entrepreneurship. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers seeking to promote resilient self-employment among vulnerable individuals for post-crisis recovery.