Assessing the impacts of social entrepreneurs and social enterprises in tourism

Abstract

Tourism social entrepreneurs are considered important stakeholders in sustainable community development. The concept has been gaining attention in the tourism scholarship; however, an examination of the specific impacts made by tourism social entrepreneurs and their enterprises are limited. This chapter therefore aims to examine the impacts of social entrepreneurs and social enterprises in tourism. To reveal the social nature of this entrepreneurial phenomenon in tourism, our analysis was guided by Gartner's (1985) framework for describing new venture creation. By applying Gartner's (1985) framework comprising the individual, the organization, the process, and environment, we draw attention to where the current scholarship is emphasized before we lead into a discussion on the impacts of tourism social entrepreneurs, and opportunities for future scholarship.