ABSTRACT
This chapter is divided into two main sections. The first one introduces the key characteristics in terms of motivation, personality traits, and skills of successful social entrepreneurs, before also highlighting the challenges that they encounter. The second focuses instead on the main organisational characteristics of social enterprises – namely their social business model, hybridity options, legal form, and governance structure. Both sections are strengthened through a practical example that highlights how the characteristics mentioned are evident in practice. Finally, the chapter summarises the key sectors in which social entrepreneurship operates and explains how these depend on different socio-economic contexts where social entrepreneurship developed.
