Skip to main content

Humility and Social Entrepreneurship

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Social Entrepreneurship and Corporate Social Responsibility

Part of the book series: Management for Professionals ((MANAGPROF))

  • 1137 Accesses

Abstract

Is humility an asset or a liability for social entrepreneurs? The answer is unclear from the outset, as well as important; humility may be a hidden factor in the success or failure of social entrepreneurs. The aim of this chapter is to provide an aid for social entrepreneurship researchers interested in humility. I first outline the current research on humility, which has exploded in the past couple years. Then, I describe how the two constructs may be intertwined. Next, I focus on how humility may impede or facilitate social entrepreneurial performance. Finally, I describe the variety of tools available, both measures and interventions, for the social entrepreneurship researcher who is interested in incorporating humility into their research program.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ashton, M. C., & Lee, K. (2005). Honesty-humility, the big five, and the five-factor model. Journal of Personality, 73(5), 1321–1353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bacq, S., Hartog, C., & Hoogendoorn, B. (2016). Beyond the moral portrayal of social entrepreneurs: An empirical approach to who they are and what drives them. Journal of Business Ethics, 133(4), 703–718.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bacq, S., & Janssen, F. (2011). The multiple faces of social entrepreneurship: A review of definitional issues based on geographical and thematic criteria. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 23(5–6), 373–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanken, I., van de Ven, N., & Zeelenberg, M. (2015). A meta-analytic review of moral licensing. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 41(4), 540–558.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chancellor, J., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2013). Humble beginnings: Current trends, state perspectives, and hallmarks of humility. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7(11), 819–833.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, Y., Liu, B., Zhang, L., & Qian, S. (2018). Can leader “humility” spark employee “proactivity”? The mediating role of psychological empowerment. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 39(3), 326–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiu, C.-Y. C., Owens, B. P., & Tesluk, P. E. (2016). Initiating and utilizing shared leadership in teams: The role of leader humility, team proactive personality, and team performance capability. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(12), 1705–1720.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi, N., & Majumdar, S. (2014). Social entrepreneurship as an essentially contested concept: Opening a new avenue for systematic future research. Journal of Business Venturing, 29(3), 363–376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, D. E., Rice, K., McElroy, S., DeBlaere, C., Choe, E., Tongeren, D. R. V., & Hook, J. N. (2016a). Distinguishing intellectual humility and general humility. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 11(3), 215–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, D. E., McElroy, S. E., Rice, K. G., Choe, E., Westbrook, C., Hook, J. N., … Jr, E. L. W. (2016b). Is modesty a subdomain of humility? The Journal of Positive Psychology, 11(4), 439–446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Clercq, D., Thongpapanl, N., & Dimov, D. (2009). When good conflict gets better and bad conflict becomes worse: The role of social capital in the conflict–innovation relationship. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 37(3), 283–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Di Domenico, M., Haugh, H., & Tracey, P. (2010). Social bricolage: Theorizing social value creation in social enterprises. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 4(34), 681–703.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Exline, J. J., & Geyer, A. L. (2004). Perceptions of humility: A preliminary study. Self and Identity, 3(2), 95–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Exline, J. J., & Hill, P. C. (2012). Humility: A consistent and robust predictor of generosity. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 7(3), 208–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fatfouta, R., & Schröder-Abé, M. (2018). A wolf in sheep’s clothing? Communal narcissism and positive implicit self-views in the communal domain. Journal of Research in Personality, 76, 17–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foronda, C. L., Baptiste, D.-L., Pfaff, T., Velez, R., Reinholdt, M., Sanchez, M., & Hudson, K. W. (2018). Cultural competency and cultural humility in simulation-based education: An integrative review. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 15, 42–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goncalo, J. A., Flynn, F. J., & Kim, S. H. (2010). Are two narcissists better than one? The link between narcissism, perceived creativity, and creative performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(11), 1484–1495.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goss, D., Jones, R., Betta, M., & Latham, J. (2011). Power as practice: A micro-sociological analysis of the dynamics of emancipatory entrepreneurship. Organization Studies, 32(2), 211–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grant, S. M., Hodge, F. D., & Sinha, R. K. (2018). How disclosure medium affects investor reactions to CEO bragging, modesty, and humblebragging. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 68–69, 118–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gregg, A. P., Hart, C. M., Sedikides, C., & Kumashiro, M. (2008). Everyday conceptions of modesty: A prototype analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(7), 978–992.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grubbs, J. B., & Exline, J. J. (2014). Humbling yourself before god: Humility as a reliable predictor of lower divine struggle. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 42(1), 41–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hagá, S., & Olson, K. R. (2017). ‘If I only had a little humility, I would be perfect’: Children’s and adults’ perceptions of intellectually arrogant, humble, and diffident people. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 12(1), 87–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haugh, H. M., & Talwar, A. (2016). Linking social entrepreneurship and social change: The mediating role of empowerment. Journal of Business Ethics, 133(4), 643–658.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hilbig, B. E., Heydasch, T., & Zettler, I. (2014). To boast or not to boast: Testing the humility aspect of the Honesty–Humility factor. Personality and Individual Differences, 69, 12–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hook, J. N., Farrell, J. E., Davis, D. E., DeBlaere, C., Van Tongeren, D. R., & Utsey, S. O. (2016). Cultural humility and racial microaggressions in counseling. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63(3), 269–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hopkin, C. R., Hoyle, R. H., & Toner, K. (2014). Intellectual humility and reactions to opinions about religious beliefs. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 42(1), 50–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, J., Erdogan, B., Jiang, K., Bauer, T. N., & Liu, S. (2018). Leader humility and team creativity: The role of team information sharing, psychological safety, and power distance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103(3), 313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huynh, H. P., Johnson, C. E., & Wehe, H. (2019). Humble coaches and their influence on players and teams: The mediating role of affect-based (but not cognition-based) trust. Psychological Reports. Advance online publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jankowski, P. J., & Sandage, S. J. (2014). Attachment to god and humility: Indirect effect and conditional effects models. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 42(1), 70–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jeung, C.-W., & Yoon, H. J. (2016). Leader humility and psychological empowerment: Investigating contingencies. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 31(7), 1122–1136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, M. B. (2007). The multiple sources of mission drift. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 36(2), 299–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kerlin, J. A. (2010). A comparative analysis of the global emergence of social enterprise. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 21(2), 162–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kesebir, P. (2014). A quiet ego quiets death anxiety: Humility as an existential anxiety buffer. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 106(4), 610–623.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krumrei-Mancuso, E. J., Haggard, M. C., LaBouff, J. P., & Rowatt, W. C. (2019). Links between intellectual humility and acquiring knowledge. The Journal of Positive Psychology. Advance online publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krumrei-Mancuso, E. J., & Rouse, S. V. (2015). The development and validation of the comprehensive intellectual humility scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 98(0), 209–221.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kruse, E., Chancellor, J., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2017). State humility: Measurement, conceptual validation, and intrapersonal processes. Self and Identity, 16(4), 399–438.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kruse, E., Chancellor, J., Ruberton, P. M., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2014). An upward spiral between gratitude and humility. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 5(7), 805–814.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lavelock, C. R., Worthington, E. L., Griffin, B. J., Garthe, R. C., Elnasseh, A., Davis, D. E., & Hook, J. N. (2017). Still waters run deep: Humility as a master virtue. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 45(4), 286–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leary, M. R., Diebels, K. J., Davisson, E. K., Jongman-Sereno, K. P., Isherwood, J. C., Raimi, K. T., … Hoyle, R. H. (2017). Cognitive and interpersonal features of intellectual humility. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 43(6), 793–813.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McElroy, M. W. (2002). Social innovation capital. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 3(1), 30–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McElroy-Heltzel, S. E., Davis, D. E., DeBlaere, C., Jr., Worthington, E. L., & Hook, J. N. (2019). Embarrassment of riches in the measurement of humility: A critical review of 22 measures. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 14(3), 393–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McMullen, J. S., & Bergman, B. J. (2017). Social entrepreneurship and the development paradox of prosocial motivation: A cautionary tale. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 11(3), 243–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, T. L., Grimes, M. G., McMullen, J. S., & Vogus, T. J. (2012). Venturing for others with heart and head: How compassion encourages social entrepreneurship. Academy of Management Review, 37(4), 616–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nadelhoffer, T., Wright, J. C., Echols, M., Perini, T., & Venezia, K. (2017). Some varieties of humility worth wanting. Journal of Moral Philosophy, 14(2), 168–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nga, J. K. H., & Shamuganathan, G. (2010). The influence of personality traits and demographic factors on social entrepreneurship start up intentions. Journal of Business Ethics, 95(2), 259–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, R., & Marrone, J. A. (2018). Humility: Our current understanding of the construct and its role in organizations. International Journal of Management Reviews, 20(4), 805–824.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ou, A. Y., Tsui, A. S., Kinicki, A. J., Waldman, D. A., Xiao, Z., & Song, L. J. (2014). Humble chief executive officers’ connections to top management team integration and middle managers’ responses. Administrative Science Quarterly, 59(1), 34–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owens, B. P., & Hekman, D. R. (2015). How does leader humility influence team performance? Exploring the mechanisms of contagion and collective promotion focus. Academy of Management Journal, 59, 1088–1111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owens, B. P., Wallace, A. S., & Waldman, D. A. (2015). Leader narcissism and follower outcomes: The counterbalancing effect of leader humility. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(4), 1203–1213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paulhus, D. L., & Williams, K. M. (2002). The Dark Triad of personality: Narcissism, machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Journal of Research in Personality, 36(6), 556–563.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification (1st ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, W., Lee, H., Ghobadian, A., O’Regan, N., & James, P. (2015). Social innovation and social entrepreneurship: A systematic review. Group & Organization Management, 40(3), 428–461.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raskin, R. N., & Hall, C. S. (1979). A narcissistic personality inventory. Psychological Reports, 45(2), 590–590.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reid, C. A., Jr., Worthington, E. L., Garthe, R. C., Davis, D. E., Hook, J. N., Tongeren, D. R. V., & Griffin, B. J. (2018). Actor–partner interdependence of humility and relationship quality among couples transitioning to parenthood. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 13(2), 122–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, R. C., & Cleveland, W. S. (2017). Humility from a philosophical point of view. In E. L. Worthington, Jr., D. E. Davis, & J. N. Hook (Eds.), Handbook of humility: Research, theory, and application (pp. 33–46).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowatt, W. C., Powers, C., Targhetta, V., Comer, J., Kennedy, S., & Labouff, J. (2006). Development and initial validation of an implicit measure of humility relative to arrogance. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1(4), 198–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruberton, P. M., Huynh, H. P., Miller, T. A., Kruse, E., Chancellor, J., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2016). The relationship between physician humility, physician–patient communication, and patient health. Patient Education and Counseling, 99(7), 1138–1145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saebi, T., Foss, N. J., & Linder, S. (2019). Social entrepreneurship research: Past achievements and future promises. Journal of Management, 45(1), 70–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sastre-Castillo, M. A., Peris-Ortiz, M., & Valle, I. D.-D. (2015). What is different about the profile of the social entrepreneur? Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 25(4), 349–369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sezer, O., Gino, F., & Norton, M. I. (2018). Humblebragging: A distinct—and ineffective—self-presentation strategy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114(1), 52–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shi, Y., Sedikides, C., Cai, H., Liu, Y., & Yang, Z. (2017). Disowning the self: The cultural value of modesty can attenuate self-positivity. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 70(6), 1023–1032.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, R., Watts, H., & Bell, R. (2014). Personality trait differences between traditional and social entrepreneurs. Social Enterprise Journal, 10(3), 200–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, W. K., Gonin, M., & Besharov, M. L. (2013). Managing social-business tensions: A review and research agenda for social enterprise. Business Ethics Quarterly, 23(3), 407–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sousa, M., & van Dierendonck, D. (2017). Servant leadership and the effect of the interaction between humility, action, and hierarchical power on follower engagement. Journal of Business Ethics, 141(1), 13–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suchman, M. C. (1995). Managing legitimacy: Strategic and institutional approaches. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 571–610.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tangney, J. P. (2000). Humility: Theoretical perspectives, empirical findings and directions for future research. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19(1), 70–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tervalon, M., & Murray-García, J. (1998). Cultural humility versus cultural competence: A critical distinction in defining physician training outcomes in multicultural education. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 9(2), 117–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tong, E. M. W., Tan, K. W. T., Chor, A. A. B., Koh, E. P. S., Lee, J. S. Y., & Tan, R. W. Y. (2016). Humility facilitates higher self-control. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 62, 30–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vera, D., & Rodriguez-Lopez, A. (2004). Strategic virtues: Humility as a source of competitive advantage. Organizational Dynamics, 33(4), 393–408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, F., Edwards, K. J., & Hill, P. C. (2017a). Humility as a relational virtue: Establishing trust, empowering repair, and building marital well-being. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 36(2), 168–179.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, J., Zhang, Z., & Jia, M. (2017b). Understanding how leader humility enhances employee creativity the roles of perspective taking and cognitive reappraisal. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 53(1), 5–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, X., Li, H., & Yin, H. (2019). Antecedents and consequences of creativity in teams: When and how leader humility promotes performance via team creativity. The Journal of Creative Behavior. Advance online publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weidman, A. C., Cheng, J. T., & Tracy, J. L. (2018). The psychological structure of humility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114(1), 153–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weidman, A. C., & Tracy, J. L. (2017). Is humility a sentiment? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 40, e251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, J. C., Nadelhoffer, T., Perini, T., Langville, A., Echols, M., & Venezia, K. (2017). The psychological significance of humility. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 12(1), 3–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, J. C., Nadelhoffer, T., Ross, L. T., & Sinnott-Armstrong, W. (2018). Be it ever so humble: Proposing a dual-dimension account and measurement of humility. Self and Identity, 17(1), 92–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, F., Xu, B., Anderson, V., & Caldwell, C. (2019). Humility as enlightened leadership: a Chinese perspective. Journal of Management Development, 38(3), 158–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yao, X., Farmer, S., & Kung-McIntyre, K. (2016). Who is the entrepreneur? Prototypical views of the entrepreneurial role across three cultures. In T. M. Devinney, G. Markman, T. Pedersen, & L. Tihanyi (Eds.), Global entrepreneurship: Past, present & future (pp. 117–145). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Zachry, C. E., Phan, L. V., Blackie, L. E. R., & Jayawickreme, E. (2018). Situation-based contingencies underlying wisdom-content manifestations: examining intellectual humility in daily life. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 73(8), 1404–1415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zahra, S. A., Gedajlovic, E., Neubaum, D. O., & Shulman, J. M. (2009). A typology of social entrepreneurs: Motives, search processes and ethical challenges. Journal of Business Venturing, 24(5), 519–532.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elliott Kruse .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Kruse, E. (2020). Humility and Social Entrepreneurship. In: Marques, J., Dhiman, S. (eds) Social Entrepreneurship and Corporate Social Responsibility. Management for Professionals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39676-3_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics