scholarly journals Building Sustainable Rural Communities through Indigenous Social Enterprises: A Humanistic Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9643
Author(s):  
Mario Vázquez-Maguirre

This article follows a humanistic management approach to analyze how indigenous social enterprises contribute to building sustainable rural communities. To this end, I first explore the process of how these entities were formed and developed the necessary capabilities to generate such outcomes. Then, I examine the strategies indigenous social enterprises create to engage in value creation activities with the community and their main outcomes. Such outcomes are finally classified by the problems they addressed according to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), since one of the gaps in the literature indicates a lack of studies that relate specific SDGs with the outcomes of social enterprises in developing countries. This article follows a qualitative approach, a case study research strategy, and uses semi-structured interviews as the main data collection instrument. Evidence from four cases of indigenous social enterprises in Latin America suggests that these entities originate as a result of a major crisis that affects the dignity of the individuals and compromises the socio-economic dynamics of the communities. Second, local leadership urges a response that takes the form of a social enterprise that follows local principles and governance and pursues dignity protection, sustainability, and cultural reaffirmation. As a result, the communities have increased their levels of well-being and sustainability, linked to SDGs such as good health, decent work, reduced inequalities, public infrastructure, sustainable communities, and partnerships for the goals. This article also sheds light on how a humanistic management approach can contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics of social enterprises, as these humanistic principles and practices seem to be naturally promoted by social entrepreneurs.

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Vazquez-Maguirre ◽  
Luis Portales

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the way in which three indigenous social enterprises from Guatemala, Mexico and Peru, solve the paradox of simultaneously producing social and economic value, which creates organizational tensions.Design/methodology/approach: This research follows a qualitative method based on a case study research strategy. Three different data collection techniques are applied: Analysis of internal reports, direct observation, and semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholder, mainly employees and managers.Findings: Indigenous social enterprises deal with organizational tensions by adopting different organizational structures and privileging one dimension over the other (social or economic) in decision making Social implications. Indigenous social enterprises generate quality of life and reduce historical exclusion patterns by strengthening local economy dynamics through social innovation.Originality/value: Social innovations, appreciated in different organizational structures, contribute to alleviate the tension that arises from managing entities with double purpose. Also, this research provides evidence of how marginalized groups can overcome exclusion and poverty conditions by creating indigenous social enterprises.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Stéphanie Caron-Roy ◽  
Sayeeda Amber Sayed ◽  
Katrina Milaney ◽  
Bonnie Lashewicz ◽  
Sharlette Dunn ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Objective: The British Columbia Farmers’ Market Nutrition Coupon Program (FMNCP) provides low-income households with coupons valued at $21/week for 16 weeks to purchase healthy foods in farmers’ markets. Our objective was to explore FMNCP participants’ experiences of accessing nutritious foods, and perceived program outcomes. Design: This study used qualitative description methodology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with FMNCP participants during the 2019 farmers’ market season. Directed content analysis was used to analyse the data whereby the five domains of Freedman et al’s framework of nutritious food access provided the basis for an initial coding scheme. Data that did not fit within the framework’s domains were coded inductively. Setting: One urban and two rural communities in British Columbia, Canada. Participants: 28 adults who were participating in the FMNCP. Results: Three themes emerged: Autonomy and Dignity; Social Connections and Community Building; and Environmental and Programmatic Constraints. Firstly, the program promoted a sense of autonomy and dignity through financial support, increased access to high-quality produce, food-related education and skill development, and mitigating stigma and shame. Secondly, shopping in farmers’ markets increased social connections and fostered a sense of community. Finally, participants experienced limited food variety in rural farmers’ markets, lack of transportation, and challenges with redeeming coupons. Conclusions: Participation in the FMNCP facilitated access to nutritious foods and enhanced participants’ diet quality, well-being and health. Strategies such as increasing the amount and duration of subsidies, and expanding programs may help improve participants’ experiences and outcomes of farmers’ market food subsidy programs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg Eichler ◽  
Erich Schwarz

Interest in social innovations (SIs) from both the academic and the policy side is growing. Nonetheless, we still know little about which sustainable development goals (SDGs) SIs already address. Furthermore, only little is known about who the innovators developing and implementing SIs are. In this paper, we aim to bring more clarity and structure to the field of SIs. Firstly, a systematic literature review was conducted, before a content analysis was used to analyze the definitions used with regard to similarities. Secondly, all case studies described in the reviewed articles were then further systematically analyzed in order to identify the social or environmental problems addressed and the innovators involved. For the purpose of classifying the diverse types of problems, we used the globally known and broadly accepted 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). Results showed that most SI case studies deal with an improvement of health and well-being. Furthermore, our study illustrates that there is a pronounced difference in the focus of SIs between developing and developed countries. Concerning the innovators, our results indicate that five types of innovators are fundamentally involved in developing and implementing SIs: social entrepreneurs, NGOs and non-profits, public institutions, civil society, firms, and social enterprises. Our definition analysis as well as the identification and classification of the innovators and addressed social needs bring much-needed clarity and structure to the field. However, our systematic review shows that SI is still in its infancy and it will be interesting to see where the field will head.


Author(s):  
Abhishek Yadav ◽  
Ashok K. Das ◽  
Janet K. Allen ◽  
Farrokh Mistree

Abstract Over 250 million people in India currently lack access to basic services needed to live a rudimentary lifestyle. Most of these people reside in rural parts of the country. Lack of employment, economic opportunities, and development in rural areas are foundational to low socio-economic levels in these communities. Added to this are environmental issues such as natural resource depletion, yearlong droughts, climate change. We hypothesize that social enterprises developed at the community level can improve the quality of life of people in rural India. The lack of access to investment and resources to identify and develop social enterprises are major challenges for the creation of social enterprises. We hypothesize that a successful partnership between two major stakeholders, namely, social entrepreneurs and corporate social responsibility (CSR) investors is the key in developing multiple social enterprises to foster rural development. However, CSR and other investors require quantitative information along with impact evaluation of the value proposition before investing. Social entrepreneurs lack tools to develop and present value propositions for the village in a quantitative form. In this paper, we propose a computational framework to fill this gap and to facilitate dialog between CSR investors and social entrepreneurs that may result in a mutually favorable investment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Blake

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the potential fruitfulness of the theory of Alasdair MacIntyre for understanding how social enterprises may facilitate well-being, using empirical evidence from doctoral research to illustrate this. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on findings from research conducted at a mental health training and employment organisation which used gardening as rehabilitative tool. Participant observation and semi-structured interviews with staff, volunteers and service users were used to generate the data, a MacIntyrean lens used to analyse the data, and some suggestions are made as to why social enterprises may be particularly suited to such an approach. Findings Practitioners encouraged the seeking of “internal goods” or “goods of excellence” within practices, as it was this which was understood to facilitate well-being. Service users shared in this view, perceiving their time on the case site primarily as “work” and choosing to engage with the service out of a desire to meaningfully contribute to the community project. Research limitations/implications This research is conducted on a small scale and therefore lacks generalisability. The lack of comparison with other organisational forms using the same practice is also a limitation. Originality/value This theory offers an alternative lens for considering how social enterprises might contribute to well-being. The data presented here also complement the growing body of research literature on Work Integration Social Enterprises, considering some of the wider well-being benefits beyond work integration, which thus far has received limited empirical attention.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Faiz Kamaludin ◽  
Jesrina Ann Xavier ◽  
Muslim Amin

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore and understand the needed entrepreneurial actions required to attain sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social entrepreneurial sustainability is defined as the process of developing sustainable solutions for social, economic or environmental problems that are not being addressed by the market. This paper intends to get a clearer picture of how social entrepreneurial sustainability is affected by the exogenous shocks caused by the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative exploratory approach using a case study design was used. Semi-structured interviews with five CEOs and founders of accredited social enterprises in Malaysia that have proven sustainable were conducted. Triangulation was applied in this study through three different data sources to confirm and validate the emerging findings. Findings The findings reveal various innovative revenue-generating activities and business processes taken by social entrepreneurs to be sustainable during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as pivoting and forging new partnerships. Themes such as technical innovation and social innovation are critical concepts that need to be differentiated and understood. The introduction of a new construct termed “mission agility” will be of significant interest to academicians studying social entrepreneurship and sustainability. Practical implications The practical implications of this study suggest that if social enterprises implement the recommended strategies, they may achieve both short-term and long-term social entrepreneurial sustainability during the pandemic crisis and progressively into the post-pandemic era. Originality/value This study is unique by using two methods of data collection. By providing vital empirical evidence through primary and secondary data, the paper will offer robust findings and proposes recommendations on entrepreneurial strategies to foster the recovery and sustainability of social enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic.


2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (79) ◽  
pp. 656-674
Author(s):  
Walid Abbas El-Aouar ◽  
César Ricardo Maia de Vasconcelos ◽  
Alipio Ramos Veiga Neto

Abstract This study aimed to understand how the insertion of music in the work environment contributes to achieving Quality of Working Life (QWL), from the perspective of biopsychosocial and organisational well-being. The context where the study was conducted was the manufacturing area of a major textile company located in Natal, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The use of a case study was the research strategy adopted, with exploratory and descriptive objectives. The primary data was collected through the focus group technique and semi-structured interviews were used as an additional tool. Respecting the theoretical saturation criterion, four focus groups were formed, each comprising eight randomly selected participants from the seventy-six co-workers in the sector. The data was analysed qualitatively, using the content analysis technique. Twenty-eight QWL attributes were identified. It was concluded that musical insertion provides biological, social and, above all, psychological and organisational well-being to the co-workers, contributing to achieving QWL in the work environment researched.


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.


Author(s):  
Nataliia Kodenko ◽  

The article is devoted to the study of the influence of social enterprises on the functioning of the country's economy and the welfare of the population. It is determined that social entrepreneurs, but with a certain social mission. It is determined how, due to the introduction of social business, it is possible to solve many tasks at the state level and reduce the tax burden on the local budgets of the country, due to the functioning of social enterprises. Various directions of social business and its positive influence on economic development of the state are resulted. It is substantiated that social entrepreneurship effectively influences the economic, social ecological, recreational part of the country. As further research, it can be argued that the dependence of the country's economic development on business structures is obvious, therefore, the development of social business should become an integral part of the country's entrepreneurship.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10(6)) ◽  
pp. 1811-1827
Author(s):  
Ayanda Mchunu ◽  
Siyabulela Nyikana ◽  
Tembi Maloney Tichaawa

This study examined the pro-environmental behaviour that is associated with small-scale sporting events in the context of South Africa. To achieve this aim, the study employed a mixed-method research strategy, wherein face-to-face questionnaire surveys (n=316) were conducted with small-scale sporting event attendees. These were complemented by in-depth, semi-structured interviews with key informants who are involved in the organisation and management of such events (n=9). The key findings indicated that small-scale sport event attendees are environmentally conscious and practice pro-environmental behaviour at small-scale sport events to a large extent. However, the study observed certain nuances relating to behavioural differences at different events, with regards to environmental management. Moreover, there seemed to be a misalignment of environmental management from the event organisers and environmental behaviour by the attendees of small-scale sporting events, especially when looking into intended future behaviour at the events. The study advocates for a more comprehensive planning and management approach for small-scale events, particularly from the viewpoint of the organisers in order to promote responsible behaviour by attendees of the events going forward.


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