ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

HomeJournal of Interdisciplinary Perspectivesvol. 4 no. 2 (2026)

Small and Medium Enterprises' Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives and Activities in Samar Island, Philippines

Rochelle G. Cuanico

Discipline: business studies

 

Abstract:

This study aimed to examine the significance of social entrepreneurship initiatives and activities faced by owners, employees, and customers/clients. Using a quantitative, descriptive-correlational design, the study involved 265 owners, 795 employees, and 1,326 customers/clients from SMEs in several towns of Northern, Eastern, and Samar provinces. Results showed that entrepreneurs were committed to corporate social responsibility and made efforts toward environmental sustainability, cultural, and social development. Significant differences were found in perceptions of social entrepreneurship initiatives across participant groups, and strong correlations were observed between specific demographics, including business foundation and type, and social entrepreneurship practices. Moreover, the study offers valuable insights for future research and practical recommendations for recognizing the pivotal roles of SME owners, employees, and customers/clients in driving social entrepreneurship endeavors, and for empowering individual entrepreneurs to navigate social entrepreneurship in terms of innovation and social practices.



References:

  1. Alzahrani, F. (2021). The role of social entrepreneurship in the process of recovery from disaster: A systematic literature review during COVID-19 era. International Journal of Economics, Business and Management Research, 5(10).
  2. Bhandari, P. (2022). What is quantitative research? | Definition & methods.  Scribbr.
  3. Barberá-Tomás, D., Castelló, I., de Bakker, F., & Zietsma, C. (2019). Energizing through visuals: How social entrepreneurs use emotion-symbolic work for social change. Academy of Management Journal, 62(6), 1789–1817.  
  4. Bedi, H.S., & Yadav, N. (2019). Social entrepreneurship: A conceptual clarity. Our Heritage, 67(10), 1006–1016.
  5. British Council. (2017). Social enterprise in Southeast Asia: A landscape study. 
  6. Buendía-Martínez, I., & Monteagudo, M.J. (2020). The role of CSR on social entrepreneurship: An international analysis. Sustainability, 12(17), 6976.  
  7. Caballero, G., & Arias, X.C. (2013). De la nueva economía institucional al análisis institucional moderno de las ciencias sociales. In X.C. Arias & G. Caballero (Eds.), Nuevo institucionalismo: Gobernanza, economía y políticas públicas (pp. 17–40). Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas.
  8. Cortes, A.F., & Lee, Y. (2021). Social entrepreneurship in SMEs: A note on three essential questions. New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, 24(2), 62–78.
  9. Creswell, J.W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
  10. Cristobal, A., & Cristobal, M.C.D. (2017). Practical research 1 for Senior High School. C&E Publishing Company, Inc.
  11. Darko, R., & Quijano, R.G. (2015). Social enterprises in the Philippines: Challenges and prospects. 
  12. Grimstad, S.M.F., Glavee-Geo, R., & Fjørtoft, B.E. (2020). SMEs motivations for CSR: An exploratory study. European Business Review, 32(4), 553–572.
  13. Gupta, P., Chauhan, S., Paul, J., & Jaiswal, M.P. (2020). Social entrepreneurship research: A review and future research agenda. Journal of Business Research.
  14. Habaradas, R. (2022). Social entrepreneurship: Conceptual definition, brief literature review and some examples from the Philippines. Asian Development Bank.
  15. Huda, M., Qodriah, S.L., Rismayadi, B., Hananto, A., Kardiyati, E.N., Ruskam, A., & Nasir, B.M. (2019). Towards cooperative with competitive alliance: Insights into performance value in social entrepreneurship. Creating Business Value and Competitive Advantage with Social Entrepreneurship (pp. 294–317). IGI Global.
  16. International Finance Corporation. (2019). Social entrepreneurship: A pathway to economic and social inclusion. 
  17. Iyanda, A. (2021). Funding strategies for small business sustainability. Walden University.  
  18. Kannampuzha, M., & Hockerts, K. (2019). Organizational social entrepreneurship: Scale development and validation. Social Enterprise Journal, 15(3), 290–319.
  19. Lubberink, R (2019). Social entrepreneurship and sustainable development. In W. Leal Filho, A. Azul, L. Brandli, P. Özuyar, & T. Wall (Eds.), Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Decent Work and Economic Growth (pp. 1–11). Springer.
  20. Mamabolo, A., & Myres, K. (2019). Performance measurement in emerging market social enterprises using a balanced scorecard. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship.  
  21. Nicholls, A., & Cho, A. (2015). Social entrepreneurship: The structuration of a field. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 6(1), 1–20. 
  22. Ong, M.A. (2016). Philippine Social Enterprise Bill: What's in it for social enterprises? The Philippine Star. 
  23. Peredo, A.M., McLean, M., & Åšmietana, R.T. (2014). Social entrepreneurship: A critical review of the concept. Social Economy, (1), 77–89.
  24. Ratten, V., & Ferreira, J.J.M. (2016). Social entrepreneurship and social innovation: The emergence of a new paradigm. Journal of Business Ethics, 133(3), 619–625. 
  25. Ziegler, R., & Niesten, E. (2018). The role of social entrepreneurship in community development and social capital. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 24(4), 971–988.