scholarly journals Innovation capability assessment tools in social enterprises

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-101
Author(s):  
Ruxandra Argatu
Keyword(s):  
Social Innovation ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Innovation Capability ◽  
Collective Knowledge ◽  
Evolutionary Pattern ◽  
Horizon 2020 ◽  
The Road ◽  
The Social ◽  
Innovation Projects

AbstractInnovation is among the pursuits of any modern organization nowadays, constituting the core of collective progress and of competitive advantage. The global rising tendency in competitiveness urges companies, public institutions and other community actors to adhere to this naturally evolutionary pattern that occurs in any kind of system. To achieve welfare in a context of continuous changes, an organization has to make sure that its processes are perfectly aligned to its mission. Additionally, having a clear picture on its innovation capability, meaning the ability of producing a valuable output by transforming internal collective knowledge, enables it to follow the road to success. In the case of traditional enterprises, which pursue profit accumulation, evaluating the innovation capability is done on the basis of clearly defined instruments, but when referring to social enterprises, a variety of factors come in place and make the evaluation more difficult. The scarce current research done concerning the assessment of innovation capability for social enterprises makes this topic meaningful to be explored, so their societal purpose can be better delivered. Thus, the aim of the paper is to formulate a framework for determining the innovation capability of Romanian social enterprises by building on the good practices reflected by innovation projects in the social field, funded through the Horizon 2020 programme at EU scale. The research methodology resides on two pillars. In the first place, it contains literature review on the concepts of innovation, social innovation, innovation capability and the instruments used to assess it. Secondly, it brings together the exemplary undertakings of multiple social innovation projects delivered through the Horizon 2020 programme and concentrated into online reports, accessible through its website.

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.

Utilization of Online Platforms by Social Entrepreneurs for Social Sustainable Development

2019 ◽  
pp. 75-102
Author(s):  
Anja Herrmann-Fankhänel
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Market Orientation ◽  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Resource Dependence ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
The Social ◽  
Start Ups

Socially sustainable development can be driven by individuals, entrepreneurs, growing start-ups, and international companies. As social entrepreneurs, people opt for a form of organization that contributes to social improvement through entrepreneurial means. The question is: How do they do it? The resource dependence approach (RDA) assumes that all decisions and activities of a (social) enterprise are based on information about its environment. Therefore, the four key components of the social enterprise (individual, organization, social innovation, market orientation) must be appropriate. In this chapter, therefore, social enterprises are outlined as active participants and shapers of the economy and society. Since an active improvement with regard to socially sustainable development is focused by the social enterprises in Africa, a description of the social enterprise's environment is also given within the framework of topical focuses. The goal is to derive recommendations about action for social enterprises to achieve their goals.

scholarly journals The emergence of a Social Innovation Ecosystem in Portugal: An exploratory approach based on the perspective of strategic stakeholders

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-34
Author(s):  
Hugo Pinto ◽  
◽  
Sílvia Ferreira ◽  
Jorge André Guerreiro ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Innovation ◽  
Social Economy ◽  
Hybrid Structure ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Social Solidarity ◽  
Innovation Ecosystem ◽  
Exploratory Approach ◽  
Innovation Dynamics ◽  
The Social

The concept of ecosystem has been used to describe a dynamic set of relationships, services and interdependencies that potentiate the creation, renewal and growth of organizations. Social innovation is largely influenced by ecosystem conditions. The Portuguese social innovation ecosystem is a particularly interesting case study, as it assumes a hybrid structure that expresses a variety of policy schemes, networks and support structures. This article debates the concept of social innovation ecosystem and presents an exploratory approach to its mapping. Based on interviews with strategic stakeholders in the social and solidarity economy and social enterprises, the study elaborates on the specificities of the social innovation ecosystem. The Portuguese ecosystem is comprised of three sub-ecosystems that show different weights, limited connections and overlapping: social economy, social business, and the social solidarity ecosystem. The article concludes with an overview of the current state of social innovation, emphasizing the perspectives of stakeholders on recent experiences that the Portuguese state has developed in establishing dialogue within organizations integrating social innovation dynamics.

scholarly journals Constructing the Model of Aboriginal Tribal Social Enterprises from the Concept of Social Economic Enterprises

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 76
Author(s):  
Hsiao-Ming Liu ◽  
Shang-Yung Yen
Keyword(s):  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Social Economy ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Main Research ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status

Taiwan's aboriginal tribes have long been affected by political forces and market economy model, and the aboriginal people living in remote mountainous areas with lack of information have met with a lot of economic and social problems and challenges such as loss of land and traditional culture, aging population and stagnation of tribal industry development. Therefore, the original self-sufficient tribes began to prone to “poverty”, and this is one of the most critical social issues for Taiwan to cope with. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the concept of "social economy" in the aboriginal tribes, to develop and restore the sharing economic cooperation model, to increase collective interests and to set up tribal social enterprises, so as to address the crucial social issues.This study will adopt the method and experience of socio-economic analysis to study the action plan of Seediq, a division of Taiwanese aboriginals, and their experience of social and economic organization and operation, and reflection on the social enterprise system. The main research is to explore the social economy in the Meixi tribe, the status quo and future development, and how to employ social innovation to promote the tribal social enterprise planning and business model.

The Role of ICT-Enabled Social Enterprise for Promoting Social Investment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiorenza Lipparini ◽  
Joshua Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Family Structures ◽  
The Social ◽  
Stakeholder Partnerships ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

Europe is facing unprecedented challenges, from globalisation to migratory flows, changing family structures, ageing populations, inequality and social exclusion, unemployment, and so on. To meet these challenges, we need to modernise EU social protection systems by expanding the social investment dimension of social spending, while taking advantage of technological advancements and multi-stakeholder partnerships to drive change in the welfare system. Within this context, this chapter focuses on the role of Information Communication Technology (ICT) enabled social enterprises for promoting social investment. First, we outline the social enterprise landscape in Europe, going beyond fuzzy concepts to highlight the key characteristics of social enterprises that make them important for social change. Second, we outline key ways in which social enterprises are using ICT in their activities to achieve varied socio-economic goals: from using social media to scale up, to improving organisational management, and expanding service offerings in healthcare, education, the labour market, and other social fields. Our analysis is based on findings from our study on the role of social enterprises in delivering ICT enabled social innovation initiatives promoting social investment approaches, carried out by the authors in the framework of the European Commission’s ICT-Enabled Social Innovation (IESI) project. (See https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/iesi.) We find that ICT-enabled social enterprises are particularly important for social investment, given their ability to combine technological and social innovation, and their focus on meeting community-specific needs that can be scaled up. We encourage research and policy commitments to further test and validate how social enterprises can catalyse public-private partnerships for the delivery of public goods to safeguard our Social Europe.

scholarly journals Understanding social innovation processes in rural areas: empirical evidence from social enterprises in Germany

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Martens ◽  
Anke Wolff ◽  
Markus Hanisch
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Allocation Patterns ◽  
Private Actors ◽  
Innovation Processes

Purpose Against the background of increasing infrastructure loss in many rural areas, this study aims to contribute conceptually and empirically towards better understanding of rural innovation processes related to provision of public goods. Design/methodology/approach The nationally focused understanding of innovation processes leads the debate on rural development into a dilemma that this study seeks to sidestep via the concept of social innovation. Community cooperatives – a type of social enterprise that has increasingly emerged in rural areas of Germany in the past decade – offer the opportunity to examine social innovation processes. This cross-case study reveals the broad range of activities in which such cooperatives are active and analyses their social innovation processes. Findings The study shows that the social innovation governance framework enables examination of social innovation processes. Although macro-level policy has appeared to be an important instrument for financing social innovation, public actors at the micro-level seem barely able to initiate social innovation processes unless they are also private actors and, therefore, can pursue additional incentives. The social innovations studied here seem to differ in terms of their actor constellations and resource-allocation patterns, depending on whether they are concerned with the establishment or maintenance of local infrastructure. What they have in common, however, is the initiation of formalised collective-action processes that serve to legitimise social innovation. Originality/value By applying an analytical framework that is new to the literature on social innovation, the study provides insight into the activities and decision-making processes of actors involved in social innovation in rural areas. In this context, community cooperatives have rarely been studied as an interface between public, private and civil society actors or as a platform for mobilising human, social and financial capital.

scholarly journals The Key Factors in Social Innovation Projects

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 107-116
Author(s):  
Orly Carvache-Franco ◽  
Glenda Gutiérrez Candela ◽  
Elsie Zerda Barreno
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Critical Factors ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
The Social ◽  
Innovation Projects

Abstract This article presents a review of the specialized literature on the critical factors for the planning and administration of social innovation projects and the main barriers or obstacles that these projects face. Social innovation is currently disseminated in Latin America as a solution to the social problems that exist in the region, so it is important to identify the key factors that must be considered in the planning and administration of these projects to guarantee their success. However, in spite of its importance, specialized literature identifying these barriers is still scarce. The methodology used is a qualitative approach of selecting, reviewing and analyzing scientific articles or papers from indexed journals. This article can be useful to people, organizations and institutions involved in the planning and administration of social innovation projects.

scholarly journals Collectivist Practices in Social Innovation: Functions of Cooperation

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-71
Author(s):  
Svetlana G. Klimova ◽  
Ivan A. Klimov
Keyword(s):  
Business Strategy ◽  
Professional Ethics ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Independent Effect ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
The Social ◽  
Non Profit Organizations ◽  
Production Problems

This articles analyzes the business strategy of social innovators. We call the heads and employees of non-profit organizations, social enterprises, and the initiators of volunteer projects “social innovators”, as they not only use organizational novelties in their activities, but also change routine rules and practices, which alters the life of a society connected in any way with the activities of those organizations. It is demonstrated that the standard expectations of ideologues and officials, in respect to the activity of social innovators, contradict their values and visions of proper behavior. They consistently show orientation towards cooperation with each other and the social environment. Solidarity, the development of communities around non-profit organizations or social enterprises, is not only a resource, but also an independent effect of their activity. The functions of cooperation in the activity of social innovators are described. Cooperation is required not only to implement the mission accepted by innovators, but also to solve practical production problems. These are: the increase of knowledge and exchange of experience; cooperation for solving difficult problems; the joint elaboration of standards of professional ethics and business ethics; a way to gain reputation among colleagues and service consumers; the promotion of new values; and the preservation, re-creation, or restoration of the local community. It is concluded that the competition ideologeme promoted in the community of social innovators should be replaced with the cooperation ideologeme and relevant training programs.

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