scholarly journals Engaging symbiotic ecosystems to build community centred business models for the BoP: Evidence from small social enterprises in East Africa

Author(s):  
Andrea Sottini ◽  
Giacomo Ciambotti ◽  
David Littlewood

This article examines how small social enterprises (SSEs) in East Africa build business models for base of the pyramid (BoP) markets, through engaging symbiotic ecosystems. Through in-depth qualitative research, a three-stage process is identified. First, SSEs learn and become sensitised to the manifold challenges of building business models for BoP markets. Second, SSEs identify and connect with key BoP actors, weaving them together to create a symbiotic ecosystem and to overcome the aforementioned challenges. Third, SSEs harness this symbiotic ecosystem to deliver community-centred business models for the BoP. This research contributes to social entrepreneurship, small business, and BoP literatures, by shedding light on the challenges faced by SSEs working in the BoP, and through novel elaboration of how SSEs develop and interact with symbiotic ecosystems to surmount these challenges. It also provides important practical insights, for social entrepreneurs and social enterprise managers in Africa and elsewhere.

Author(s):  
Hale Cide Demir

The intense competition and change by globalization and digitalization in the 21st century have made organizations and people face opportunities, threats, and uncertainty. Digitalization allows new and original business models and thus, presenting changes as a service or benefit to the consumer has become more important. A network is the most powerful instrument of social entrepreneurs or other employees to adapt to the new order. A very important tool of the new order is the blockchain technology which allows more secure, efficient, and trustworthy social enterprises. Social entrepreneurship is the process of establishing social enterprises to create social benefits and the relevant social value is general non-financial effects of programs, organizations, and interferences that include the wellbeing of people and communities, social capital, and the environment. This study tries to define and theorize that the results of digitalization can be managed by increasing social entrepreneurship and the resulting social impact and networking have an easing effect on this method.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Zoha A. Karmali ◽  
Meena Galliara ◽  
Manjari Srivastava

Subject area Social Entrepreneurship. Study level/applicability This case study can be used on the module on introduction to social entrepreneurship for postgraduate students specializing in Social Entrepreneurship or Social Work. Case overview This case explores the difference between social entrepreneurship and idealism. It captures the journey of Charlene Vaz and Kavita Gonsalves, two passionate young women, who formed “The Bake Collective” (TBC). Kavita and Charlene are both full-time employees, who spend their weekends and evenings running TBC and through bake sells raise funds for supporting social causes. The women have been able to get a teacher hired for differently abled children, provide water purifiers to victims of the Nepal earthquake, furnish a classroom in a school for less privileged children and provide teaching material for schools in over 400 villages in the State of Maharashtra in India. The case highlights the power of volunteering for a cause that can result in developing a social enterprise. It helps to unfold the steps undertaken to kick-start the cause as well as the risks involved in the start-up stage. It also discusses the measures that can be taken to mitigate the risks in the start-up phase and the ways by which social entrepreneurs can scale and grow their programme. Expected learning outcomes From this case, students will learn about the factors that lead to the germination of a social enterprise and identify characteristics of social entrepreneurs. They will be able to understand critical factors required to sustain start-up enterprises. The case will also enable students to explore systems and processes that need to be designed to sustain the start-up phase. Further, the case will help students to brainstorm on growth strategies for social enterprises. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rokhima Rostiani ◽  
Widya Paramita ◽  
Handini Audita ◽  
Risa Virgosita ◽  
Teguh Budiarto ◽  
...  

Entrepreneurship has been one of the biggest growth topics in the past decades. Someentrepreneurs engage in socially active activities that are strongly embedded in their entrepreneurialactivities and are known as social entrepreneurship. This research maps the presence ofsocial enterprises in Indonesia by investigating the personal and organizational contexts of thesocial entrepreneurs. Qualitative research was conducted by engaging in in-depth interviewswith 8 social enterprises in Indonesia. The findings of this research result in a unique andinteresting map of the presence of the social entrepreneurs that contributes significantly to theextant literatures of social entrepreneurship.* We would like to thank the anonymous reviewer andparticipants in the APCBSS 2014 Conference for theinsightful discussions, comments and advice for thispaper.Keywords: Social entrepreneurship, small and medium enterprise, entrepreneurship, strategy


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
William Durbin

<p>How we live our lives here in New Zealand affects others who are distant from us. We live in a world with many networks across space, which connect people with radically different lifestyles. These connections create an avenue to respond to the poverty of these ‘distant others’. One such network of connections is the coffee industry. Ethical consumption and social entrepreneurship within the coffee industry are a means to address development issues, and ultimately poverty. This research will look into coffee social enterprises, and how they can be included in a post-development theoretical framework. In particular, it will discuss the motivations of social entrepreneurs involved in the coffee companies interviewed.  Post-development provides a theoretical framework for this research of coffee social enterprises. It provides a critique to mainstream development, and has questioned how development is done, as well as its very validity. In doing so, it has encouraged new ways of ‘doing development’. One example of this is Sally Matthews’ three responses the wealthy can have to poverty: first, re-thinking of the development discourse in light of post-development; secondly, supporting popular initiatives; and thirdly, solidarity with distant others here at home.  This is an appreciative inquiry into different coffee companies, using qualitative ethnographic methods. Seven in-depth interviews have been conducted with managers, past owners or head roasters, as well as one with an expert on social enterprise.</p>


Author(s):  
Martyna Wronka-Pośpiech

Although research on social entrepreneurship has been expanding in recent years, the literature regarding business models in the context of social enterprises is still limited. This chapter explores the issues of business models in both profit and nonprofit contexts and discusses how value, being both the foundation and the overall outcome of the business model employed, is created. It begins with the background on the characteristics of social enterprises. This is followed by the conceptualization of business models and their components designed to account for their unique. Then a case to illustrate it is presented. The objective of the chapter is twofold. First, it is to analyse how nonprofit business models are different from its for profit counterparts (at the conceptual level) and to introduce relevant analytical framework. Secondly, the chapter aims at providing a case based on the particular model of a social enterprise in Poland (social co-operative) in order to investigate whatever the business models for profit firms could be applied in the social enterprises.


Author(s):  
Gözde Morgül ◽  
Mine Afacan Fındıklı

This chapter examines the role of social enterprises/entrepreneurs from the perspective of the COVID-19 outbreak and discussed the importance of social entrepreneurship. In this context, answers to the following questions are sought: Did social enterprises/entrepreneurs stand out during the COVID-19 era, particularly the social value they created? Do social enterprises/entrepreneurs perform studies especially for groups experiencing social exclusion during the COVID-19 era? The study based on qualitative research reveals that by producing innovative, fast, and effective solutions social initiatives have won the approval of society. The headlines of leading media outlets published between December 2019 and June 2020 and discourses from social actors confirm the rising critical value of social entrepreneurs.


2021 ◽  
pp. 251512742110474
Author(s):  
Stephanie A. Fernhaber

Social entrepreneurship is on the rise. For educators, it is no longer a question of if we should teach social entrepreneurship, but rather how we might best do so. The Social Enterprise Audit is introduced as an innovative way to combine in-class learning with active engagement in the social entrepreneurship community. Student teams are matched with local social enterprises. As foundational concepts of social entrepreneurship are taught in the classroom, student teams visit and meet with their social enterprise partner to apply the concepts. The final deliverable includes an analysis and critique of the social enterprise along with a set of recommendations. The structured approach is easy for the instructor to implement and aligns directly with course material. Students benefit by nurturing their identity as a social entrepreneur while developing a skillset that equips them to make a difference.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Dalborg ◽  
Yvonne von Friedrichs

Purpose In many regions, the potential of social entrepreneurship and social innovation are not fully used. The purpose of this study is to explore issues and challenges in the business advisory support offered to social entrepreneurs and, from this background, give suggestions on how the advisory process to social entrepreneurs could be modified to better gain society. Design/methodology/approach Representatives from 15 business advisory organisations in Sweden were interviewed to examine how their support to social enterprises meets the needs of the companies, and to discover possible problems encountered regarding the business advice available to social enterprises. Using thematic analysis, six different overarching themes were identified that characterise issues and challenges in the business advisory support offered to social enterprises. Findings The results show that many advisers lack experience in social entrepreneurship, yet they consider that social enterprises are not “genuine” entrepreneurs, and that they, therefore, refer them to advisers focussing on co-operative enterprises. Furthermore, the absence of sustainable business models, the lack of financial resources and the existence of municipal monopoly are identified by the advisers as challenges. Practical implications This paper reveals an Achilles’ heel in the business advisory support offered to social enterprises, namely, the lack of experience and knowledge of social entrepreneurship amongst current business advisers, as well as a prioritisation of advice to more “commercial” entrepreneurs because of policy instruments and the expectations from the public funders of increased profitability and growth in the companies that receive advice. The mainstream business advisory service could play a key role by bringing together the various stakeholders in this shared value process. This would, however, require increased knowledge and new government policies and directives that ensure that social entrepreneurs are prioritised in the business advisory situation. Originality/value This paper demonstrates that the current advisory system is not adapted to fit the needs of social enterprises. It also proposes the need to include participation and proximity in the business model design.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. 175-183
Author(s):  
Irina Atanasova

Social entrepreneurship has to be perceived in the context of social economy. It is the production, supply and / or organization of consumption of goods with a socially significant effect. The objectives of the paper are: to define the essence of the social entrepreneurship, its relation to the other business models and the social enterprise as an organizational subject of social entrepreneursh. The institutional framework and the legal foundations of these processes in the EU and Bulgaria have been outlined. Some specific problems - institutional, legal, economic are concerned and directions are given for solving them.


Author(s):  
Stasė Navasaitienė ◽  
Marharyta Vishniakova ◽  
Rasa Rukuižienė

The article presents the overview of the approaches and models, which are important in determination of social entrepreneurship driving forces. The research problem is arised for getting more wide view about activities and motivation issues of social entrepreneurs in the Republic of Belarus. The research aims to examine the individual features and motives of social entrepreneurs in profile of their personality related to appropriate business models for social entrepreneurship development. The broad and narrow approaches are used to get an answer about the perspectives of social entrepreneurship in this country. The objectives of research are arised as follow: 1) define approaches of social entrepreneurs‘ for individual profiling; 2) describe the motives of entrepreneurs to start activities for social business; 3) highlight the business models of social enterprises‘ establishment. The methods of research: monographic, descriptive and meta-analysis of scientific literature. As well as the analysis of the empirical data is produced by in-depth interviews with the heads of organizations and enterprises engaged in social entrepreneurship in the Republic of Belarus (in-depth interviews were conducted in the period from 15th August to 15th November 2015, and 10 experts were involved). The key findings of research: marked a „broad“ and „narrow“ approaches for higlighting the profile of social entrepreneurs; approved the consequences that social entrepreneurs are high motivated and biased towards achieving socially beneficial purposes rather than material well-being; identified the circumstances about the existance of individual and organizational models for establishment social enterprises.


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