Social entrepreneurship is a new and emerging concept, which deals with social welfare and profit-earning practice. Social entrepreneurs work for a dual purpose, business having a profit orientation, in socially beneficial activities. Moreover, in developing countries like India, rural social entrepreneurial ventures hold great importance. According to the Global Competitiveness Report 2016-17, India stands at 39th position among 138 countries, and as per the World Competitiveness Index for 2018, India has been ranked as the 58th most competitive economy from the list of 140 countries. The proportion of early-stage entrepreneurs (18 - 44 age groups) is significantly high. India is basically a factor-driven economy. As per the study, there are approximately 2 million social entrepreneurial ventures in India, out of which 53% are engaged in skills development activities, 30% in education, 28% in agriculture/fisheries/dairy, 26% in financial services and 26% in energy and clean technology. Therefore, it becomes significant to study the attributes possessed by social entrepreneurs and their leadership traits. Considering the same, the area for the study is chosen with the deeper understanding with special reference to Tirunelveli.
Meenakshi et al. (Wed,) studied this question.