Abstract:

In recent years, the field of social entrepreneurship has garnered substantial attention within academic literature. This burgeoning area of research delves into the intersection of business principles and societal impact, exploring innovative strategies to address pressing social and environmental challenges. Social entrepreneurship is defined by the proactive pursuit of novel solutions to entrenched problems, coupling a commitment to social or environmental improvement with entrepreneurial principles. This multifaceted concept emphasizes the application of innovative business models, sustainable practices and collaborative approaches to effect positive change, ultimately contributing to the creation of a more equitable and sustainable world.

In a rapidly evolving global landscape, characterized by increasing social and environmental challenges, this paper investigates the barriers that impede the engagement of business management university students in social entrepreneurship endeavours in the Spanish context. Recognizing the importance of a nuanced and comprehensive analysis, we employed a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approach, specifically Fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), to model complex interrelationships among various identified barriers.

Through a combination of surveys and interviews, we collected data on the perceptions and experiences of business management students and professors and the university management team from the Alcoy Campus of the Universitat Politècnica de València in Spain in relation to the existing obstacles to social entrepreneurship. The quantitative data was subjected to Fuzzy DEMATEL analysis, enabling us to unveil the nuanced cause-and-effect relationships and prioritize the barriers based on their impact and interconnectedness.

The study revealed a number of obstacles, such as lack of financial resources, risk aversion, lack of experience in entrepreneurship, complexity of social problems, external pressures and lack of awareness of the opportunities and potential of social entrepreneurship, among others. Furthermore, the fuzzy DEMATEL procedure also allowed us to quantify the strength and direction of the relationships among barriers, while considering the uncertainty inherent in subjective assessments to provide a more realistic representation of the intricate network of barriers.

Finally, we discussed the implications of our findings for educational institutions and proposed targeted interventions to alleviate the identified constraints. By integrating the power of quantitative modelling with qualitative exploration, this research contributes to a more profound understanding of social entrepreneurship barriers among business management students at both undergraduate and master's levels. The insights gained pave the way towards more effective strategies for cultivating a socially conscious entrepreneurial mindset in academic environments.

Keywords:

Social entrepreneurship, Barriers, Business management students, Fuzzy DEMATEL.