Sustainable competencies of social entrepreneurship for sustainable development: Exploratory analysis from a developing economy

With the establishment of social enterprises, the role of social entrepreneurs (SEs) become prominent with their exceptional competencies that contribute to the sustainable development (SD) of the environment. Sustainable competencies (SC) assist these entrepreneurs in strengthening their personalities for the present and future development by facilitating entrepreneurial social activities. This study focuses on the investigation of SC of SEs with the help of in-depth interviews and exploratory factor analysis by collecting the data from SEs belonging to different regions of Uttar Pradesh, India through a questionnaire. During the analysis of interviews and data, it has revealed that among the eight vital SC, few are entrepreneurial resilience, empathy, emotional intelligence, strategic thinking etc., which are crucial for the success of the social entrepreneurial journey. This is the significant study that focuses on the SC required by the present and future generations for the world's SD with humankind and would facilitate the academic institutes and policymakers to inculcate the SC among the generations to create more social enterprises.