scholarly journals Exploring the drivers of tensions in social innovation management in the context of social entrepreneurial teams

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 1344-1361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frédéric Dufays
Keyword(s):  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Innovation Management ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Innovation Implementation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Entrepreneurial Teams ◽  
The Social ◽  
Entrepreneurial Team

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify tensions that are emerging in the invention and implementation of social innovation by social entrepreneurial teams and highlights elements that influence the type of tension encountered. Design/methodology/approach Four cases are selected theoretically, studied individually, and compared to one another to identify tensions and patterns of tensions. Findings The findings reveal the predominant tensions related to goals and identity during social innovation invention and those related to time and knowledge during social innovation implementation. The size of the entrepreneurial team, the nature of the social innovation, and the interest orientation – that is, the overlap between entrepreneurial team members and beneficiaries – are found to play a role in the type of tensions encountered and their content. Research limitations/implications The chosen research approach limits the generalizability of the research results. Replication in other settings and with other types of social innovation is therefore encouraged. Originality/value In contrast to most existing studies, this research focuses on nascent social innovation projects borne by teams. It proposes that social-business tensions are not necessarily predominant in social innovation management. It suggests the importance of interest orientation as an underestimated factor in the study of social entrepreneurship.

Cultural values, entrepreneurial team structure and performance of SMEs

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Bashokuh-E-Ajirloo ◽  
Bahman Khodapanah ◽  
Mehdi Alizadeh ◽  
Mehdi Ebrahimzadeh
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Team Performance ◽  
Discriminant Validity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Team Structure ◽  
Entrepreneurial Teams ◽  
Reliability Indicator ◽  
Entrepreneurial Team ◽  
And Performance

PurposeThe main objective of this study is to explain the relationship between members' cultural values on structure and performance of the entrepreneurial teams that located in Tehran.Design/methodology/approachData used in this study are collected by a questionnaire distributed among managers and other executive members of SMEs located in Tehran. One hundred and thirty-nine participants completed the questionnaires, and their responses were analyzed using partial least squares technique. Measures showed good convergent and discriminant validity. Furthermore, Cronbach's alpha, as reliability indicator for all measures, is at the acceptable level.FindingsResearch finding shows that all hypothesis supported in Iran contex. Entrepreneurial team members' cultural values have positive and significant effect on the entrepreneurial team structure. Entrepreneurial team members' cultural values have significant effect on the entrepreneurial team performance and also, the structure of the entrepreneurial team has a positive and significant effect on the entrepreneurial team performance.Originality/valueThese studies mostly focused on technical dimensions of entrepreneurial teams and overlooked the cultural values of their members.

Researcher subjectivity in social entrepreneurship ethnographies

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (02) ◽  
pp. 128-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eeva Houtbeckers
Keyword(s):  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Working Space ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss researcher subjectivity in social entrepreneurship ethnographies. Previous research has highlighted a need for alternatives to the heroic representations of social entrepreneurship. Ethnographic methods have been mentioned as a relevant direction to create such emerging understandings. Design/methodology/approach This paper shows what followed from a decision of a researcher to do an ethnography of a co-working cooperative established for social innovation. Based on the notion of “working the hyphens” in previous research, further developed by other scholars as “working within hyphen-spaces”, the position of the researcher shifted during the research process between a distant outsider and an engaged insider. In addition, a new hyphen-space of hopefulness – hopelessness emerged based on fieldwork. Findings The shifting positions are manifested in the entanglement of stories of the researcher and the people met during the fieldwork in the hyphen-spaces of insiderness – outsiderness, engagement – distance and hopefulness – hopelessness. The stories reveal how for some the co-working space was a place for hope while for others it caused distress and even burnout. Practical/implications The ethnographic understanding of social enterprises go beyond heroic representations, which affects how the phenomenon is represented in academic and public discussions. Social/implications This study concludes that despite its failure in the form of a bankruptcy, the co-working cooperative succeeded in enabling “social innovation” in the form of hope and personal development – also for the researcher. Originality/value This study contributes to the social entrepreneurship literature in showing how ethnographic fieldwork and acknowledging researcher subjectivity bring up alternative representations of social entrepreneurship. The entangled stories of participants and researchers can be a powerful way to reveal situated understandings.

The trinity of entrepreneurial team dynamics: cognition, conflicts and cohesion

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 934-951 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming-Huei Chen ◽  
Yu-Yu Chang ◽  
Yuan-Chieh Chang
Keyword(s):  
Team Cohesion ◽  
New Venture ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Shared Cognition ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Venture Performance ◽  
Entrepreneurial Teams ◽  
Entrepreneurial Team ◽  
The Trinity

Purpose Cognition, conflict and cohesion constitute an inseparable body of group dynamics in entrepreneurial teams. There have been few studies of how entrepreneurial team members interact with each other to enhance venture performance. The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a model that explains the trinity of cognition, conflict and cohesion in terms of social interaction between entrepreneurial team members. Design/methodology/approach Drawing upon the existing literature concerning entrepreneurial teams, the hypothesized model posits that shared cognition influences team cohesion through the mediating effects of intra-team conflicts. The model also postulates that team cohesion is positively associated with new venture performance and entrepreneurial satisfaction. Structural equation modeling is used to test the hypothesized model, using data that were collected from 203 entrepreneurial teams from technology-based companies in Taiwan. Findings The results show that shared cognition in entrepreneurial team members maintains team cohesion by restraining conflict and that team cohesion has a positive influence on entrepreneurial members’ satisfaction and new venture profitability. Practical implications The leader of a new venture team must endeavor to improve shared cognition between entrepreneurial members. To strengthen shared cognition, the leader can hold formal workshops to build consensus, informal meetings to share views, or use social media to enhance common understanding. Originality/value This paper verifies the connections between shared cognition, conflicts and cohesion in entrepreneurial teams in predicting new venture success and highlights the importance of cultivating a shared cognition in an entrepreneurial team to manage conflicts.

Coopetition in social entrepreneurship: a strategy for social value devolution

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leandro da Silva Nascimento ◽  
Júlio César da Costa Júnior ◽  
Viviane Santos Salazar ◽  
Adriana Fumi Chim-Miki
Keyword(s):  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Social Value ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
Cooperation Level ◽  
The Social ◽  
Competition Level

PurposeCoopetition is a well-studied phenomenon in traditional enterprises. However, it lacks deepening in the social sphere, specifically on hybrid organizations (social and commercial goals). This paper analyzes the configuration of coopetition strategies in social enterprises and how these strategies can improve social value devolution.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a multicase study with Brazilian social enterprises and a social incubator. Semistructured interviews with founders of the social enterprises and the president of the incubator were the primary sources of evidence, supported by observations and secondary data.FindingsThe authors identified four main findings: (1) the social incubator induces coopetition among social enterprises; (2) coopetition is necessary to improve market performance; (3) coopetition is a natural strategy resulting from the activity of the social enterprise; (4) the behavior and context of social enterprises generate a new framework for coopetition formation. This framework comprises three stages of value: a social cooperation level to co-creation of value; second, a social competition level to the appropriation of value; and the third coopetition-balanced level to social value devolution.Originality/valueThe authors advance knowledge on coopetition in an exciting, underexplored context, social entrepreneurship. The authors highlight that the coopetition nature and outcome in social enterprises have specificities compared to traditional businesses. The authors also improve the understanding of social value devolution based on simultaneous cooperation and competition among small social enterprises, allowing theoretical and practical implications. Thus, they advance the recurring discussion in coopetition literature beyond the generation and appropriation of value.

How the social entrepreneurship business model designs in South Africa create value: a complex adaptive systems approach

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olu Oludele Akinloye Akinboade ◽  
Trevor Taft ◽  
Johann Friedrich Weber ◽  
Obareng Baldwin Manoko ◽  
Victor Sannyboy Molobi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social

Purpose This paper aims to understand social entrepreneurship (SE) business model design to create values whilst undertaking public service delivery within the complex environments of local governments in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach Face-to-face semi-structured interview was conducted with 15 purposively selected social entrepreneurs in Gauteng and Western Cape provinces. The interview guide consisted of main themes and follow-up questions. Themes included SEs’ general history, the social business model; challenges faced and how these were overcome; scaling and growth/survival strategies. These enabled the evaluation of SEs in terms of identifying key criteria of affordability, availability, awareness and acceptability, which SEs must achieve to operate successfully in low-income markets. Social enterprise owners/managers within the electricity distribution, water reticulation and waste management services sectors were surveyed. Findings Most respondents focus on building a network of trust with stakeholders, through communication mechanisms that emphasize high-frequency engagements. There is also a strong focus on design-thinking and customer-centric approaches that strengthen value creation. The value creation process used both product value and service value mechanisms and emphasized quality and excellence to provide stakeholder, as well as societal value, within their specific contexts. Practical implications This study builds upon other research that emphasizes SEs’ customer-centric approaches to strengthen value creation and on building a network of trust with multiple stakeholders. It contributes to emphasizing the business paradigm shift towards bringing social values to the business practice. Social implications Social good, but resource providers are demanding more concrete evidence to help them understand their impact (Struthers, 2013). This is because it is intrinsically difficult for many social organizations to document and communicate their impact in more than an anecdotal way. The research has contributed to the understanding of how SEs can provide evidence of value creation. Originality/value This study contributes to the understanding of how business models are designed to create value within the context of the overwhelming complexity of local government services in South Africa.

Social entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ecosystems

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (9) ◽  
pp. 1252-1267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip T. Roundy
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Social Entrepreneur ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Community Revitalization ◽  
Entrepreneurial Ecosystems ◽  
Support Organizations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Time Work

Purpose The formation of entrepreneurial ecosystems is recognized as an activity that can produce economic development and community revitalization. Social entrepreneurship is also an activity that is receiving growing attention because of its potential for addressing social and economic problems. However, while scholars have focused on how the participants in entrepreneurial ecosystems, such as investors and support organizations, influence ecosystem functioning, it is not clear what role social entrepreneurs can play in entrepreneurial ecosystems. Nor is it known how the entrepreneurial ecosystems in which social entrepreneurs are located can influence the founding and operation of their ventures. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach In this conceptual paper, theory is proposed to explain the interrelationship between entrepreneurial ecosystems and social entrepreneurship. Findings It is theorized that entrepreneurial ecosystems will influence the operations and effectiveness of social entrepreneurs through mechanisms such as the ecosystem’s diversity of resource providers, support infrastructure, entrepreneurial culture, and learning opportunities. In turn, social entrepreneurs can shape the entrepreneurial ecosystems in which they are situated by influencing the heterogeneity of ecosystem participants, garnering attention for the ecosystem, and increasing its attractiveness to stakeholders. Originality/value Scholars examining entrepreneurial ecosystems have not studied the role of an increasingly important market actor: the social entrepreneur. At the same time, work on social entrepreneurship has not emphasized the community of social relations and cultural milieu in which social entrepreneurs found their ventures. The theory developed addresses both of these omissions and has important implications for practitioners focused on spurring entrepreneurial ecosystems and social entrepreneurship.

Social impacts of a short-distance relocation process and new ways of working

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 265-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matti Christersson ◽  
Christopher Heywood ◽  
Peggie Rothe
Keyword(s):  
Short Distance ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Social Impacts ◽  
Employee Perceptions ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Ways Of Working ◽  
The Social ◽  
Organizational Relocation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the social impacts of short-distance office relocation that also involved a new way of working, as perceived by employees during a relocation process. Relocation is any process of moving business premises and can consist of (often) significant change in locality, building change, workplace change and ways of working. This case study was not influenced by the effect of locality change making it hence a short-distance relocation. Design/methodology/approach The social impacts are analysed based on the perceptions of approximately 15 per cent (nine employees) of the case organization across the relocation process – two months before, one week before and four months after the move. The qualitative data collection is conducted by semi-structured interviews, supplemented by diaries and participatory action research. Findings Before the relocation, the subject organization’s old premises were considered inadequate. Still, employees had concerns during the process about the new open office environment including the adoption of new ways of working. Some employees did experience resistance towards the change, although the amount of engagement possibilities was deemed sufficient and engagement recognized as an important part of the process. After the relocation, adaptation was considered easier than originally anticipated and experiences of improved inter-team collaboration were reported by most while others experienced just the opposite, pointing out to emerging individual differences. Research limitations/implications The limitations of this study arise mainly from the ability to statistically generalize on the basis of a single case study which this paper represents. Furthermore, since the last interviews were made four months after the move, all post-occupancy implications were possibly not yet fully experienced. Originality/value The paper provides information on the social impacts of organizational relocation process, as it identifies individual employee perceptions during a relocation process where locality change is minimal. Moreover, the threefold research approach across the relocation process enables the appearance of possible time-dependent development of adaptation to change in employee perceptions and these perceptions to be analysed in more detail.

Exploring the social innovation process in a large market based social enterprise

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 1399-1414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martine Vézina ◽  
Majdi Ben Selma ◽  
Marie Claire Malo
Keyword(s):  
Social Transformation ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Investment Fund ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Large Market ◽  
The Social

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the organising of social innovation in a large market-based social enterprises from the perspective of dynamic capabilities and social transformation.Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyses the process by which Desjardins Group launched the Desjardins Environment Fund as the first investment fund in North America to integrate environmental screening. It uses longitudinal single case analysis and a theoretical framework based on Teece’s three dynamic capabilities.FindingsResults show that dynamic capabilities can be conceived as stages in the process of social innovation. Sensing refers to the capability to identify a societal demand for social transformation. Seizing capability is about shaping societal demand into a commercial offer. Reconfiguring concerns organisational innovation to integrate actual and new knowledge through innovative routines. Microprocesses of both path dependency and path building are in action at each of the three stages.Practical implicationsThis paper shows that managing dynamic capabilities is central to social innovation in the context of a large social business and provides genuine managerial input via an analysis of the microprocesses at work in the social innovation process.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the operationalization of Teece’s dynamic capabilities model. In mobilising a framework in the field of management of innovation, it contributes to the understanding of the process of social innovation and develops the organisational mechanism for multiscalarity of social innovation as a condition for social transformation.

How do social responsibility and social entrepreneurship generate value creation in pandemics?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Silva ◽  
Margarida Rodrigues ◽  
Mário Franco ◽  
Cidália Oliveira ◽  
Nuno Sousa
Keyword(s):  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
High Degree

Purpose Using self-determination theory and individual social responsibility’s (ISRs) association with pure social entrepreneurship, this study aims to answer the following question: How and why have the different actors responded to the crisis caused by the pandemic? Design/methodology/approach Qualitative research (multiple case studies) was adopted, resorting to interviewees with seven economic and non-economic actors in the Portugal context. Findings The results obtained, using MAXQDA software, show that those carrying out actions of social responsibility have a high degree of self-determination and intrinsic motivation, and are true social entrepreneurs, which lets them improve the well-being of those around them. In addition, these individuals feel good about themselves by performing these actions, as they measure their performance by the social impact of their actions on society in general. Practical implications This study suggest there is a high awareness amongst people to exercise that responsibility in a voluntary way, through humanitarian initiatives and campaigns brought about especially by an unprecedented pandemic. In practice, people joining these initiatives motivate many others towards the causes, creating the will to continue in the future and satisfy unmet needs provoked by social crises. Originality/value This study is innovative because it is related to filling the gaps identified, mainly by carrying out an empirical study about ISR, rather than that of firms, where studies are more common.

scholarly journals Motivation of female entrepreneurs: a cross-national study

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 684-705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Solesvik ◽  
Tatiana Iakovleva ◽  
Anna Trifilova
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Economies ◽  
New Ventures ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
National Study ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Female Entrepreneurs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Outcomes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Different Levels

Purpose This paper focuses on the motivation of females to start businesses in developed and emerging economies. Although the issues related to the motivation of entrepreneurs have been widely studied, there are a few studies focusing on the differences in women’s entrepreneurial motivation in countries with different levels of market economy development. Furthermore, existing studies on female founders mainly adapt the concepts that have often been developed in male-dominated paradigm. The purpose of this paper is to explore in depth motivations of female entrepreneurs in different contexts and discover the dissimilarities in women’s entrepreneurial motivations in countries with different levels of economic development. Design/methodology/approach The qualitative research approach is applied in this study to explore the social-driven and profit-driven motives of female entrepreneurs. The authors have employed purposeful sampling to select cases. The authors investigated the motivations of 45 female entrepreneurs in Norway (12), Russia (21) and Ukraine (12). Semi-structured interviews were used to collect primary data. The authors have also triangulated the data collected from interviews with the data available on the internet, company reports and newspaper publications. Findings The findings indicate that women often pursuit business opportunities to satisfy social needs, rather than focusing on traditional business outcomes such as growth or profit. However, different contexts – the emerging economies context of Russia and Ukraine and the developed one of Norway – seem to influence the motivation to establish new ventures differently. The study found a stronger desire to contribute to a society’s needs among female founders in Norway compared to their counterparts in Russia and Ukraine. This indicates that cultural and social context in developed countries, such as in Norway, probably provides more possibilities for female entrepreneurs for self-realisation elsewhere leaving more room for focusing on societal issues in business in comparison with emerging countries contexts. Originality/value A novel conceptual contribution is the exploration of links between the social-driven and profit-driven motives of female entrepreneurs in emerging and developed economises. The study also adds to debates relating to context embeddedness of smaller firms.

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