Wisdom and Altruism in Entrepreneurship: Comparing Social Entrepreneurs to Commercial Entrepreneurs

Abstract

Purpose –  Besides philosophers, today wisdom has been a subject of inquiry for psychologists, management scientist and other social scientists as well. We tried to understand the role of wisdom in entrepreneurship by comparing the social entrepreneurs to commercial entrepreneurs by using Monika Ardelt's (2003) Three Dimensional Model of Wisdom. In addition, the association of wisdom dimensions to altruism was scrutinized for both entrepreneur groups.

Design / Methodology/ Approach –  The data of the research were gathered from 350 entrepreneurs who had accepted to be participants of this study. The participants were reached via various universities that provide consultancy services to these entrepreneurs. The surveys included demographic questions, Ardelt’s (2003) 3D –WS (Three Dimensional Wisdom) questionnaire, and Rushton and collegues’ Self-Report Altruism Scale. Independent sample t-tests and multiple regression analysis were conducted to test the hypothesis.

Results –  The results showed that social entrepreneurs had significantly higher scores in all dimensions of wisdom (Reflective: t342,583: 5,810, p<.01; Affective: t342,525:2,595, p<.01; and Cognitive: t329,673: 22.502, p<.01). Moreover reflective and affective dimensions of wisdom were found to predict altruism scores of all entrepreneurs (R2:.27, F: 62.550, p<.01, βreflective: .312, p<.01; βaffective:.273, p<.01). Besides these results, all the sub dimensions of two constructs were compared for both groups and significant differences were found. The associations in the regression analysis among wisdom and altruism dimensions also varied for two groups.

Discussion –  The results showed that compared to commercial entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs have higher scores in the attributes of wisdom and altruism. Besides, the wisdom related antecedents of altruism differentiate for each group of entrepreneurs. These findings shed light on the importance of wisdom and altruism on social entrepreneurship and help us to understand the basic dynamics of social entrepreneurship.