Ethical Foundations of Social Entrepreneurship Competencies: A Systematic Review and Integrative Framework

Social entrepreneurship education is flourishing. However, research on social entrepreneurship competencies remains highly fragmented. Without a coherent understanding of these competencies and their ethical underpinnings, researchers cannot explore how they affect the social impact and financial viability of social entrepreneurship, nor can educators determine learning outcomes. We conduct a systematic review of 147 social entrepreneurship articles and identify 12 distinct social entrepreneurship competencies. Guided by deontological, utilitarian, and care ethics, we group these into normative , pragmatic , and relational competencies. We furthermore identify and discuss their relationships, antecedents, and outcomes, resulting in propositions. Our paper enables research on how competencies help social entrepreneurs navigate ethical dilemmas, whether education effectively cultivates them, and whether their acquisition leads to desired outcomes and social impact. We hope this review stimulates more systematic empirical research on the effects of social entrepreneurial competencies and longitudinal studies on how to develop them. In particular, we argue that new outcome variables (beyond mere intention) must be investigated, especially individual behaviour, team dynamics, organisational performance, and social impact.