A systematic literature review towards a conceptual framework for integrating sustainability performance into business

Corporate sustainability has become mainstream; reaching into all areas of business management. Yet despite this progress, large-scale social and ecological issues continue to worsen. In this article, we examine how corporate sustainability has been enacted as a concept that supports the dominant beliefs of strategic management rather than challenging them to shift business beyond the unsustainable status quo. Against this backdrop, we consider how hybrid organizations (organizations at the interface between for-profit and nonprofit sectors that address social and ecological issues) are operating at odds with beliefs embedded in strategic management and corporate sustainability literatures. We offer six propositions that define hybrid organizations based on challenges they present to the beliefs embedded in these literatures and position them as new heretics of strategic management and corporate sustainability orthodoxy. We conclude with the implications of this heretical force for theory and suggest dire...

The New Heretics: Hybrid Organizations and the Challenges They Present to Corporate Sustainability

Entrepreneurship for sustainable development is a multilevel phenomenon connecting social, environmental and economic dimensions between entrepreneurial processes, market transformations, as well a...

Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development: A Review and Multilevel Causal Mechanism Framework:

Corporate sustainability has gone “mainstream”; reaching into all areas of business management. Yet, despite this progress, large-scale social and ecological issues continue to worsen. In this paper, we examine how corporate sustainability has been operationalized as a concept that supports the dominant beliefs of strategic management rather than challenging them to shift business beyond the unsustainable status quo. Against this backdrop, we consider how hybrid organizations (organizations at the interface between for-profit and non-profit sectors that address social and ecological issues) are operating at odds with beliefs embedded in strategic management and corporate sustainability literatures. We offer six propositions that further define hybrid organizations based on challenges they present to the assumptions embedded in these literatures, and position them as new heretics of mainstream strategic management and corporate sustainability orthodoxy. We conclude with the implications of this heretical force for theory and practice.

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This study reviews literature on performance measures among international social ventures and draws interviews with 12 US social ventures to explore how the use of such measures varies depending on the type of social venture, its funding business model, and scale of operations. We find some distinct differences in the use of performance measures among the different types of social enterprises related to the focus on stakeholders, emphasis on inputs, outputs, and outcomes. Implications for theory and practice of social entrepreneurship are discussed.

Measures of Performance in the Context of International Social Ventures: An Exploratory Study

Social entrepreneurship, ventures with a self-sustaining business model and a social impact objective, is a trend gaining momentum and garnering attention for the "citizen sector:" How is the social impact measured? How might it be measured? Based on a multi-disciplinary literature review and an examination of current practice, this research attempts to address these questions. A performance measurement framework is proposed and illustrated by archetypes of common social ventures. Keywords: social entrepreneurship; performance measurement; citizen sector; social value; social value; outcome assessment; balanced scorecard MOTIVATION Performance measurement is of increasing importance, whether in industry, academia, or the public sector, as organizations are held to greater standards of accountability and transparency, especially for financial reporting. Such oversight does not extend to the outcomes of social entrepreneurial ventures, although there are some foundations and nonprofits that provide support to these entrepreneurs based on some evaluation. For example, Ashoka (www.ashoka.org) provides funding to Fellows based on five criteria: the knockout test: a new idea; creativity; entrepreneurial quality; social impact; and ethical fiber. In their annual recognition of the most accomplished social entrepreneurs around the world, the Schwab Foundation (www.schwabfound.org) uses criteria of innovation, sustainability, and direct social impact, in quantifiable results. According to Mulgan (2010), metrics to measure social impact have proliferated over the past several decades, resulting in hundreds of competing methods for calculating social value. Building on these ideas, and others found in the academic literature, this research examines the question of how social value is created and measured. The extant literature on social entrepreneurship is examined, and a multi-disciplinary perspective of performance measurement is presented to establish the conceptual model in the following section. LITERATURE REVIEW The defmition of a social entrepreneur varies. In the most general sense, a social entrepreneur is someone who starts a new organization to accomplish a social mission. What distinguishes a social entrepreneur from other leaders in the citizen sector who start or lead social impact-oriented organizations? Specifically, social entrepreneurs are able to serve this mission with a (largely) self-sustaining business model. They may start with some seed funding, they may operate partially through fund-raising, but social entrepreneurs are able to generate profits in both fmancial and social terms. They are a new model of entrepreneurship: not-for-personalprofit enterprise, and generate value for social ends and wealth to enable reinvestment and the sustainability of the business (Chell, 2007, p.18.) This business model is different from that of a nonprofit in that the entrepreneur takes on risk; for the social entrepreneur that risk is taken at the behest of others, in hopes of having social impact. As Mair and Marti (2006, p. 36) describe it, "social entrepreneurship as a process that catalyzes social change and addresses important social needs in a way that is not dominated by direct fmancial benefits for the entrepreneurs." Prieto (2011, p.77) suggests that disadvantaged communities need social entrepreneurs to generate innovative solutions to complex problems. Mother difference with nonprofits is that "a nonprofit organization is, in essence, an organization that is barred from distributing its net earnings, if any, to individuals who exercise control over it... It should be noted that a nonprofit organization is not barred from earning a profit... It is only the distribution of profits that is prohibited" (Brody, 1996, p. 458). Dees, (1998, p.60) notes the pressures on nonprofits to become sustainable through the introduction of commercial activity and suggests that it is possible to position social enterprises along a spectrum from the purely philanthropic to the purely commercial. …

Entrepreneurship with Social Value: A Conceptual Model for Performance Measurement

For social entrepreneurs there has always been the challenge to evaluate program effectiveness and to address stakeholders' expectations. In today's hyper-connected world, organizations are held to increasing standards for accountability and transparency. Beyond financial and operational measures, though, organizations in this sector are challenged to demonstrate their ongoing social value. Dees (1998, p. 60) notes the pressures on social entrepreneurs to become sustainable through the introduction of commercial activity and suggests a spectrum of social enterprises from the purely philanthropic to the purely commercial. In his 2003 work with Anderson, Dees (2003, p. 16) coins the term "sector-bending... a wide variety of approaches, activities, and relationships that are blurring the distinctions between nonprofit and for-profit organization." Never easy, the competition for time and money is increasingly challenging.Moreover, Porter and Kramer (2011, pp. 64-65) argue that, "the purpose of the corporation must be redefined as creating shared value, not just profit per se. . Around the world, societal needs, not just conventional economic needs, define markets, and social harms can create internal costs for firms." For-profit businesses are interdependent with their communities and stakeholders, which creates more pressure on non-profits (K'nIfe & Haughton, 2013).The challenge to be accountable, transparent, and sustainable-while delivering programs and services, coordinating volunteers, managing cash flow, and dealing with the wealth of challenges that a social entrepreneur can face in a day-can arguably be accomplished through a performance measurement system. Is there a way to capture the right metrics in the right way at the right time that does not burden the social entrepreneurial organization? And, that are meaning on predictive of a long-term existence?In the sections that follow, the motivation for the research is developed further, explaining how performance measurement can be used to the advantage of the social entrepreneur, anywhere around the world. The literature review examines performance measurement systems, social value measurement, and the capture of long-term effects known as externalities. Based on this review, a logic model is proposed and validated with empirical data. The approach and results are presented, followed by a discussion of implications of the findings.MOTIVATION AND BACKGROUNDInvestors and volunteers of the social enterprise, worldwide, are the metaphorical lifeblood that keeps these organizations alive. The intentions and commitment levels of individuals vary, but ultimately it can be argued that the investment of money and/or time is intended to have an impact. So as these organizations compete for these scarce resources, how can they demonstrate their impact? Often, they use an emotional appeal, such as video of a hungry child foraging for bits of food in a faraway land. They might take the anecdotal approach, such as highlighting the youth who participated in the after-school program and completed his/her education. Sometimes, they try to use measures the success of a group of women turning localized crafts into a profitable venture (Global Girlfriends).Measures are increasingly expected when trying to attract grants from foundations or governments. Bill Gates, reporting on the Gates' Foundation work, states that he has "been struck again and again by how important measurement is to improving the human condition" (Levy, 2013). In force as of January 2013, The Social Value Act in the United Kingdom is intended to "ensure that, when awarding contracts, commissioners should consider not just costs aspects of a proposed project or bid but its overall value to the community" (Arvidson & Kara, 2013).In this context, we define social value broadly as a benefit to humankind, including health, education, quality of life, and ecological improvements. …

Cheryl Clark

Papers

Entrepreneurship with Social Value: A Conceptual Model for Performance Measurement

Social Entrepreneurship: A Global Model for Evaluating Long-Term Impact