Social Enterprises and Sustainable Development Goals

In line with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) put forth by the United Nations (UN), social entrepreneurship models in global health are on the rise. While SDG Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing is the direct focus of global health sector, the majority of other SDG goals affect and are affected by ‘good health and wellbeing'. While global health interventions create social value by increasing healthcare access in vulnerable populations, the effect is often limited by the timeline and availability of funds. In a social venture model, where value creation is paired with a sustainable financial income, this issue can be alleviated. In addition, innovative intervention models for vulnerable populations can align themselves with the sustainable social value aims in the UN's new Global Goals. This chapter describes a project (HERA) designed to decrease mortality and morbidity due to preventable diseases in refugees. The authors examine how it transformed to a sustainable and collaborative social initiative working to create lasting social value and discuss this process contextualized by the SDGs.

Social Enterprise in Small Hydropower (SHP) Owned by a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) between a Food Cooperative and a Social Venture Company; a Case Study of the 20 kW Shiraito (Step3) SHP in Itoshima City, Fukuoka (Japan)

There was an unprecedented growth of SHP (small hydropower) in Japan during recent years because the government has provided a high FIT (USD 0.32/kWh) for SHP development projects of less than 200 kW. The public and private sectors are committed to harnessing this natural energy to achieve the renewable energy goal as well as to improve local communities social and economic conditions. This paper will discuss about renewable energy initiatives by a food corporation enterprise (FCOOP) based in Fukuoka prefecture of Japan to reduce their net carbon emissions. A detailed approach for social enterprises-based SHP development has been discussed which will be a role model concept for other social enterprises in Japan and in the world that are willing to reduce CO2 emissions. Also, this kind of project connects urban stake holders with local community where resources are available and it leads to development of the local community living standards. As a demonstrated example, a case study of a 20 kW SHP installed in Japan by a FCOOP has been discussed.

Social Entrepreneurship and Volunteering: Moderation Effects of Volunteer Experience Levels on Social Entrepreneurial Intent Model

This study investigates whether an individual’s social work experience impacts the relationship between institutional environmental constructs and the perceived desirability and feasibility of establishing a social venture. It extends Urban, B. and L. Kujinga’s. (2017. “The Institutional Environment and Social Entrepreneurship Intentions.” International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research 23 (4): 638–55, doi: 10.1108/IJEBR-07-2016-0218.) social entrepreneurial intent model by comparing two groups of volunteers in Malaysia with different levels of social working or volunteering experience. The results show that the cognitive environment influences perceived desirability, with a distinctly higher path significance for perceived desirability among individuals with higher levels of experience. Perceived desirability has a relatively more substantial impact on social entrepreneurship intention for highly experienced individuals. Interestingly, the results indicate that neither the regulatory nor the normative environment influences perceived feasibility for either group. Governments and other relevant organisations can utilise these findings to devise better policies for promoting social entrepreneurship.

Elucidating technology-based social entrepreneurs’ scale and scope perspectives: a study of environmental and organizational variables

Purpose The purpose of this paper was to ascertain how social entrepreneurs were required to recognize their new ventures’ scope and scale of operations. The firm boundary was based upon two dimensions, namely, the scope of the offering and its scale. The objective of this research was to ascertain the thinking regarding this of social entrepreneurs engaged through technology-based social entrepreneurship (TBSE). Design/methodology/approach This study conducted an in-depth interview of 26 technology entrepreneurs engaged in social entrepreneurship ventures in India. The interview was carried out based upon a semi-structured open-ended questionnaire. This study undertook thematic and relational content analysis to develop a model of technology-based social entrepreneurs’ venture scoping and scaling. Findings This study found that the antecedent variables were the level of support perceived by social entrepreneur from government and at the industry level. Furthermore, the variables’ entrepreneurial and market orientation of social entrepreneurs were found to be the independent variables. These four variables in turn determined the explorative and exploitative horizon of the technology-based social entrepreneurs. Finally, an interplay of these variables ascertained the perspectives of social entrepreneurs engaged in TBSE regarding the notion of their firm’s scope and scale. Research limitations/implications The theoretical insights developed in this research study provided an integrated theoretical perspective accommodating both environmental perspectives (industry support and government support) and organizational perspectives (entrepreneurial and market aspects). This was in context of TBSE. Practical implications The insights from this research study could provide a robust and comprehensive understanding to social entrepreneurs regarding the strategic thinking towards scale and scope for a technology-based social venture. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study was one of the first theoretical works in TBSE towards scaling versus scoping perspectives.