Reconciling social enterprise: beyond the paradox perspective

PurposeThe paper aims to critically review the increasingly taken-for-granted view of social enterprise (SE) as inherently paradoxical and tackles the research question as follows: are the tensions experienced by SE and social entrepreneurs (SEnt) actually paradoxical and if not, what are the implications for theory and practice?Design/methodology/approachA paradox theory (PT) approach has been utilized to explore the implications, validity and helpfulness of the paradox perspective in understanding and managing the tensions that are inherent in SE.FindingsConceptualizing the primary tension of doing social good through commercial activity as a paradox is argued to be a limiting misnomer that conspires to reify and perpetuate the tensions that SE and SEnt have to manage. Drawing upon PT, the findings of the paper reconceptualize these tensions as myths, dilemmas and dialectics, which are subsequently used to develop a more complete ontological framework of the challenges that arise in SE and for SEnt.Practical implicationsReconceptualizing the “inherent paradoxes” of SE as either dilemmas or dialectics affords a means of pursuing their successful resolution. Consequently, this view alleviates much of the pressure that SE managers and SEnt may feel in needing to pursue commercial goals alongside social goals.Originality/valueThe work presents new theoretical insights to challenge the dominant view of SE as inherently paradoxical.

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

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.

From Science to Policy: How to Support Social Entrepreneurship in Croatia

Entrepreneurs are constantly looking for new models to address growing global challenges in a sustainable manner. Over the past several decades, those challenges have been identified and responded to through the development of social entrepreneurship. There is a number of research dealing with the theoretical concepts of those topics; however, the definitions and framework for action are different from country to country. Having in mind that the main idea of social entrepreneurship is to enable decent work for employees and to gain broader welfare for communities, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the development of social entrepreneurship in Croatia. The research is focused on recent developments, connecting key definitions and principles of social entrepreneurship with common trends and concrete case studies. This study’s results show that there are different approaches to social entrepreneurship globally. However, social entrepreneurship in Croatia develops within a clear legal framework. The current state of social enterprises is connected with respective public policies, while the number and types of social entrepreneurs are constantly rising in the last few years. The results of the analysis also show that there are still actions to be taken in order to encourage future policy measures aiming to support social entrepreneurs in Croatia.

Digital Platforms for the Common Good: Social Innovation for Active Citizenship and ESG

The platform business model has attracted significant attention in business research and practice. However, much of the existing literature studies commercial platforms that seek to maximize profit. In contrast, we focus on a platform for volunteers that aims to maximize social impact. This business model is called a platform for the common good. The article proposes a Causal Loop Diagram (CLD) model that explains how a platform for the common good creates value. Our model maps the key strategic feedback loops that constitute the core structure of the platform and explains its growth and performance through time. We show that multiple types of network effects create interlocking, reinforcing feedback loops. Overall, the article contributes towards a dynamic theory of the platforms for the common good. Moreover, the article provides insights for social entrepreneurs who seek to build, understand, and optimize platforms that maximize social value and managers of companies that seek to participate in such platforms. Social entrepreneurs should seek to leverage the critical feedback loops of their platform.

The moderating effect of gender on the contribution of social enterprises to social transformation in Kiambu County, Kenya

This study sought to establish the moderating effect of social entrepreneurs’ gender on the contribution of social enterprises to social transformation in Kiambu County, Kenya. The study used a descriptive survey design guided by mixed methods research on 322 sampled social enterprises drawn from a target population of 1944 social enterprises distributed across the 12 sub-counties of Kiambu County. Data were collected using survey questionnaires and interview guide instruments. A simple random sampling technique was used to get the proportionate sample for each stratum. In data analysis, both descriptive statistics (mean, percentages, standard deviation and frequencies) and inferential statistics (correlation and regression analysis) were applied. The findings showed the influence of the independent variable on the dependent variable being explained by R of 0.568. The findings also revealed that social entrepreneurs’ gender was likely to have an effect on the relationship between social entrepreneurship and social transformation of R2 = 0.322. By the estimates of the F-test, social entrepreneurship was found to predict social transformation by F (3, 281) = 77.330, p<.05.

Strategic Formulation and Implementation of Social Entrepreneurs

This chapter explores the theory and practice of strategy that social entrepreneurs deploy to run their ventures in a sustainable way. A critical link between strategy and practice of social enterprise is discussed in detail in this chapter. The chapter focuses only on the strategic management framework and adapts it to include business analytical tools that social entrepreneurs use such as TOC, ABCD, Forms of Capital, SROI, etc. Social entrepreneurs run businesses to generate earned income and reinvest profits back into the business for a social purpose rather than for personal gain like an entrepreneur. Social enterprises include and mean different things to different people, they include a spectrum of trading organisations, such as cooperative societies; charities involved in a trading activity like charity shops; civic enterprises set up by local governments; credit unions and microcredit organisation run by social entrepreneurs. SE missions and characteristics enable them to be very attractive to the public and stakeholders.