Resumen
Despite growing academic interest in social entrepreneurship, a critical challenge facing social ventures has yet to receive attention: how do social entrepreneurs communicate with their diverse groups of stakeholders? This topic is examined using an exploratory, partially inductive study consisting of semi-structured interviews, ethnographic observation, and a critical review of the practitioner literature. The result is a framework explaining the role played by narratives and emotion in social entrepreneurship communication. The findings contribute to work on organizational narrative theory, new venture communication strategies, stakeholder evaluations of firms, and the marketing and entrepreneurship interface. Moreover, the study produces several practical implications for social entrepreneurs.