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Mobilizing Social Capital in Social Entrepreneurship: Strategies, Networks, And Growth in The Egyptian Context
This thesis examines how social entrepreneurs in Egypt strategically mobilise social capital to access resources, legitimacy, and opportunities within a fragmented and institutionally ambiguous ecosystem. Drawing on qualitative case studies of eight legally registered, mission-driven for-profit ente...
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| Format: | Thesis |
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AUC Knowledge Fountain
2026
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| _version_ | 1867613433881427968 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Alaa, Doaa |
| author_browse | Alaa, Doaa |
| author_facet | Alaa, Doaa |
| author_sort | Alaa, Doaa |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | This thesis examines how social entrepreneurs in Egypt strategically mobilise social capital to access resources, legitimacy, and opportunities within a fragmented and institutionally ambiguous ecosystem. Drawing on qualitative case studies of eight legally registered, mission-driven for-profit enterprises, the study analyses how founders build and leverage offline and online networks through practices such as emotional bonding, community formation, knowledge sharing, symbolic positioning, ecosystem engagement, and digital presence. Through thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews and secondary data, the research identifies a set of relational strategies that function as core mechanisms for entrepreneurial growth in contexts where formal support structures and legal definitions remain limited. The findings contribute to social entrepreneurship scholarship by offering a grounded explanation of how social capital is actively constructed and deployed in an emerging-market setting, highlighting the centrality of relational work to entrepreneurial trajectories. The study also offers implications for Social Enterprise Support Organizations (SESOs), policymakers, donors, and founders seeking to strengthen the relational infrastructures of Egypt’s social enterprise ecosystem. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-3822 |
| institution | American University in Cairo (Egypt) |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:36:04.810Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | AUC Knowledge Fountain |
| publisherStr | AUC Knowledge Fountain |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress |
| spelling | oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-3822 Mobilizing Social Capital in Social Entrepreneurship: Strategies, Networks, And Growth in The Egyptian Context Alaa, Doaa This thesis examines how social entrepreneurs in Egypt strategically mobilise social capital to access resources, legitimacy, and opportunities within a fragmented and institutionally ambiguous ecosystem. Drawing on qualitative case studies of eight legally registered, mission-driven for-profit enterprises, the study analyses how founders build and leverage offline and online networks through practices such as emotional bonding, community formation, knowledge sharing, symbolic positioning, ecosystem engagement, and digital presence. Through thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews and secondary data, the research identifies a set of relational strategies that function as core mechanisms for entrepreneurial growth in contexts where formal support structures and legal definitions remain limited. The findings contribute to social entrepreneurship scholarship by offering a grounded explanation of how social capital is actively constructed and deployed in an emerging-market setting, highlighting the centrality of relational work to entrepreneurial trajectories. The study also offers implications for Social Enterprise Support Organizations (SESOs), policymakers, donors, and founders seeking to strengthen the relational infrastructures of Egypt’s social enterprise ecosystem. 2026-06-15T07:00:00Z thesis application/pdf https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2762 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/3822/viewcontent/auto_convert.pdf Theses and Dissertations AUC Knowledge Fountain Social entrepreneurship; social capital; bonding bridging and linking social capital; entrepreneurial ecosystems; legitimacy; symbolic capital; relational strategies; digital social capital; Egypt Economic Policy Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Public Policy |
| spellingShingle | Social entrepreneurship; social capital; bonding bridging and linking social capital; entrepreneurial ecosystems; legitimacy; symbolic capital; relational strategies; digital social capital; Egypt Economic Policy Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Public Policy Alaa, Doaa Mobilizing Social Capital in Social Entrepreneurship: Strategies, Networks, And Growth in The Egyptian Context |
| title | Mobilizing Social Capital in Social Entrepreneurship: Strategies, Networks, And Growth in The Egyptian Context |
| title_full | Mobilizing Social Capital in Social Entrepreneurship: Strategies, Networks, And Growth in The Egyptian Context |
| title_fullStr | Mobilizing Social Capital in Social Entrepreneurship: Strategies, Networks, And Growth in The Egyptian Context |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mobilizing Social Capital in Social Entrepreneurship: Strategies, Networks, And Growth in The Egyptian Context |
| title_short | Mobilizing Social Capital in Social Entrepreneurship: Strategies, Networks, And Growth in The Egyptian Context |
| title_sort | mobilizing social capital in social entrepreneurship strategies networks and growth in the egyptian context |
| topic | Social entrepreneurship; social capital; bonding bridging and linking social capital; entrepreneurial ecosystems; legitimacy; symbolic capital; relational strategies; digital social capital; Egypt Economic Policy Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Public Policy |
| url | https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2762 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/3822/viewcontent/auto_convert.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT alaadoaa mobilizingsocialcapitalinsocialentrepreneurshipstrategiesnetworksandgrowthintheegyptiancontext |