Socio‐spatial variations in the nature of entrepreneurship

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to evaluate critically the discourse that entrepreneurship and enterprise culture are inextricably inter‐twinned with profit‐driven capitalist endeavour by seeking to understand whether amongst some populations, the culture of entrepreneurship is more socially‐oriented than profit‐driven. Design/methodology/approach - To do this, a secondary analysis is undertaken of the results of the UK Global Entrepreneurship Monitor in general, and UK Social Entrepreneurship Monitor more particularly. It compares the levels and ratios of commercial‐to‐social entrepreneurship across various population groups and areas in the UK. Findings - The finding is that there are different cultures of entrepreneurship across varying population groups. Many marginalized groups are more socially‐orientated than profit‐driven. This is particularly the case amongst the long‐term registered disabled (2.3 times more likely to engage in social rather than commercial entrepreneurship than the average UK entrepreneur), other non‐White groups (2.2 times more likely) and the retired (twice as likely). Similarly, people living in rural areas display a greater propinquity to engage in social rather than commercial entrepreneurship than those living in urban areas. Research limitations/implications - The findings raise questions about whether it is appropriate to parachute into some populations a culture of commercial entrepreneurship that might be “foreign” to their enterprise culture and whether a focus on social entrepreneurship in the enterprise culture agenda will promote greater inclusiveness of populations traditionally under‐represented. Originality/value - This paper is one of the first to document the varying ratios of commercial‐to‐social entrepreneurship amongst different population groups and areas.