Ethics and the Social Entrepreneur: The Journey to an Apposite Professional Code of Ethics

Social entrepreneurship has evolved into a global trend to promote responsible community development and social equity, including nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid ventures that identify and exploit opportunities to promote social value and community benefit. Social entrepreneurship can be a powerful tool that shifts economic and sustainable development foci from a financial growth paradigm to a community development and community determination paradigm, promoting social justice and resource distribution equity. When considering intercession's potentiality and impact on local communities, an investigation of the role of ethics in the social entrepreneurial profession is essential. It is essential to question the assumption that social can equal ethical and investigate the possibility that the outcome of an enterprise overrides negative impacts on the stakeholders, leading to potential saviorism, colonization, and even corruption in social entrepreneurial efforts. The purpose of this study is to draw on theories of ethics to inform decision-making processes in professional social entrepreneurship. The single-case study seeks to define the ethical considerations of social entrepreneurs and what factors weigh into ventures designed to advance social equity and promote economic equilibrium for marginalized populations. Additionally, it investigates the ethical parameters by which social entrepreneurs operate and how their decision-making prioritizes community stakeholders. The research builds on the work of established critical theorists, existing professional nonprofit and entrepreneurial codes of ethics, and incorporates culturally ethical research models to propose a conceptual framework for social entrepreneurship ethics. The proposed conceptual framework aims to guide social entrepreneurs in navigating the complex interplay of ethical dilemmas, power dynamics, and cultural contexts they encounter. By synthesizing traditional ethical models, critical theory considerations, and a culturally responsive, reflexive, and relationship-based model, this framework seeks to provide a robust, adaptable approach to ethical decision-making grounded in social justice, equity, and respect for diverse cultural norms. These results have implications for entrepreneurship education and social entrepreneurship education, as well as for establishing a culturally responsive, relational, and reflexive professional code of ethics for social entrepreneurs.