Founder identity in social ventures: a framework and research agenda

Abstract

Purpose-Founder identity is key to understanding how social entrepreneurs navigate their ventures’ dual mission of social impact and financial viability. Despite its importance, research on founder identity has largely focused on commercial contexts, leaving its role in social entrepreneurship underexamined and conceptually fragmented. The purpose of this study is to address this gap by synthesizing existing research and developing an integrative framework that explains how founder identity is shaped and how it influences different levels of analysis throughout the entrepreneurial journey, while providing clear directions for future research. Design/methodology/approach-Drawing on a systematic integrative review of 31 articles, the authors unpack founder identity into its personal, role and social dimensions. This framework then maps how these dimensions dynamically shape organizational practices and stakeholder relations across the venture lifecycle (from formation to exit). This approach provides a multilevel perspective, revealing identity’s influence from the micro-individual to the macro-institutional context. Findings-This review demonstrates that distinct identity dimensions are salient across the entrepreneurial journey: personal identity provides initial motivation; role identity guides organizational action; and social identity confers external legitimacy. The authors highlight the explanatory power of multi-identity configurations and, in doing so, reveal several underexplored challenges – including moral rigidity, identity foreclosure and identity-based exclusion – that provide a clear agenda for future research. Originality/value-This study integrates fragmented research into a dynamic, multilevel framework of founder identity in social ventures. It contributes by not only mapping social, role and personal identity influences but also by developing propositions to address overlooked challenges, with a more actionable and theory-driven research agenda that links individual agency, organizational dynamics and institutional change.