Nowadays social entrepreneurship is recognized as a two-way process, addressing
both social and economic concerns that can bring social inclusion, equity, and
development to disadvantaged groups in society. This aspect is particularly
important and desirable within emerging economies. In these markets, which are
constantly faced with profound economic and social challenges, we see the
growing importance of social entrepreneurs as they take upon themselves the
provision of welfare services and progressive activities. However, our
understanding of the mechanisms underlying the creation of social and economic
values in social enterprises, and the factors contributing to the establishment
of these value creation objectives, is still rather fragmented. Our article
contributes to this gap in the literature by decoding the process via which
for-profit social entrepreneurs from China and India create social and economic
value. In addition, by combining a deductive and an inductive approach of
analysis, we offer novel insights into the context-dependent processual patterns
deciphered within the two countries. A new entrepreneurial process framework
that reflects the contextualized social value creation process by social
entrepreneurs is thus provided.