Social Impact Startups, Business Model innovation and Female Management: Lessons for the Next Normal in Mexico using fsQCA

Abstract

Introduction: The main research purpose is the identification of the Key Success Factors (KSF) for Social Impact Startups (SST) and how they face an emergency context (like COVID-19 pandemic) under female management as Business Model Innovation (BMI) design to the next normal Methodology: This research applies a known KSF for the author's SST proposal framework published in 2021, composed of 6 factors and 30 variables. Hence, this work is extension research, but now, from the female management point of view. The survey data was on 400 Mexican social startup CEO as survivors in the 2020 second half. Fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) extracts different outcomes to get the same solution as KSF for SST under female management. Results: The entrepreneurship profile factor is considered a core condition for male and female management. However, as gender-based features, Key Performance Indicators (KPF) are absent for male management, and Strategic Analysis is absent (STA) for female management as KSF for SST. The research's main value is the female management's characterization as business model innovation design to the next normal. Conclusion: There are subtle differences among gender management as KSF for SST that implying opportunities to take advantage of gender-based features as Business Model Innovation (BMI). The relationship KSF-SST for BMI in the case of female management needs to develop the factors Strategic Analysis (STA); Business Plan (BPL); Market Knowledge (MKK), Key Performance Indicators (KPI), and Value Proposition (VPN). Male management, for another side, the Key Performance Indicators (KPI); Strategic Analysis (STA); Business Plan (BPL), and Market Knowledge (MKK). For both cases, the Entrepreneur Profile (EPR) is strongly present («core condition»), and additionally (VPN) for male management.