Academic research into social entrepreneurship orientation (SEO) remains nascent, despite social entrepreneurship receiving increasing attention in both research and practice. This study of 308 industrial industry firms from Austria and Northern Macedonia contributes to closing these research gaps by investigating how SEO influences social entrepreneurial performance taking into account the performance consequences of heterogeneity in firms characteristics demonstrated by start-ups and established firms using multi-group structural equation modeling and fsQCA as methods of comparison. Combining person-centered and variable-centered methods, this study contributes by exploring how SEO influences social entrepreneurial performance and considering firms characteristics for both start-ups and established industrial firms. The study highlights key differences for start-ups and established firms. The development phase of a firm, thus, plays a key role when examining SEO dimensions. This study informs practices of individuals seeking to undertake a business start-up or owner/managers involved in the operation and management of established firms in a social entrepreneurship context. The findings will be of interest to the enterprise support community in tailoring funding and training support for social enterprises for both start-ups and established firms.
Keywords: Social entrepreneurship | Entrepreneurial orientation | Sustainability | Start-ups | Multi-group structural equation modeling | fsQCA