Agency theory and social entrepreneurship: An axe that needs sharpening

Abstract

Social entrepreneurship is a recent strategy for addressing public policy concerns that have traditionally been viewed as falling within the State's ambit. This article exposes the inadequacy of agency theory for interpreting how parties coexist within a multi-stakeholder service delivery configuration under the rubric of social entrepreneurship. Using the case of Teach for America, the article explores the criticisms that traditionally trained teachers direct towards the organization's members but does not take a side on whether these criticisms are justified. Rather, it prosecutes the case that, absent a frame of reference (e.g., appropriately adapted agency theory) for exposing the interests of disparate stakeholders to a social entrepreneurship venture, misaligned interests manifest as ill-founded mutual critique, often as argumentum ad hominem denunciations.