Showing papers on "Social business published in 2012"

Managing Social-Business Tensions: A Review and Research Agenda for Social Enterprise

Abstract: ABSTRACT: In a world filled with poverty, environmental degradation, and moral injustice, social enterprises offer a ray of hope. These organizations seek to achieve social missions through business ventures. Yet social missions and business ventures are associated with divergent goals, values, norms, and identities. Attending to them simultaneously creates tensions, competing demands, and ethical dilemmas. Effectively understanding social enterprises therefore depends on insight into the nature and management of these tensions. While existing research recognizes tensions between social missions and business ventures, we lack any systematic analysis. Our paper addresses this issue. We first categorize the types of tensions that arise between social missions and business ventures, emphasizing their prevalence and variety. We then explore how four different organizational theories offer insight into these tensions, and we develop an agenda for future research. We end by arguing that a focus on social-business tensions not only expands insight into social enterprises, but also provides an opportunity for research on social enterprises to inform traditional organizational theories. Taken together, our analysis of tensions in social enterprises integrates and seeks to energize research on this expanding phenomenon.

Social Entrepreneurship: Definitions, Drivers, and Challenges

Abstract: Despite widespread acknowledgement that social entrepreneurship and social enterprise remain highly contextual –and, therefore, contestable– notions which can be interpreted in various ways depending on the ideology and the goals of the institutions championing them (Dart 2004; Dey & Steyaert 2010; Nicholls 2010c), there are common features upon which most scholars and commentators can agree. This chapter aims to capture the essence of what social entrepreneurship is and also of what it is not. The chapter is structured as follows. The following section examines the concept of social entrepreneurship and reviews a number of definitions in order to highlight common features. Then, social entrepreneurship is compared with, and differentiated from, related –but distinctive– concepts. After this, the fourth section looks at the origins and drivers of social entrepreneurship in an historical perspective. Finally, this chapter concludes by suggesting a number of challenges for practice, policy and research in this field.

Book Review: Building Social Business: The New Kind of Capitalism That Serves Humanity's Most Pressing Needs

Abstract: INTRODUCTIONMuhammad Yunus has spent a lifetime working to help the poor. He is the founding father of microfinance and has been compared to Mahatma Gandhi and Bill Gates. Decades before micro lending was popular among development economists, Yunus began making small, interest-free loans to poor rural women in Bangladesh. He believed that what keeps the poor poor isn't a lack of skill or education or work ethic, but merely access to financial intermediation. In 2006 Yunus and Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize for the success of this philosophy, and despite its criticisms and recent controversies microfinance remains a trusted method of bottom-up poverty alleviation.In recent years Dr. Yunus has moved beyond just lending to the poor; his new goal is to eliminate poverty entirely, and his method is to spread the practice of social business, a self-sustaining, "zero-loss, zero-dividend" business model that applies not only to microfinance but to any good or service provided to the poor. Eschewing traditional for-profit and non-profit models, Building Social Business explains how to create a self-sufficient business that "serves humanity's most pressing needs."The book is written for the layperson and shows a gifted communicator at work, simultaneously informing, entertaining, and instructing. Chapters 3 and 5 offer a step -bystep game plan for a socially-minded entrepreneur to start his or her own social business. Build a business around something you're passionate about, Yunus encourages, but tackle an obtainable goal. Look at emulating successful projects in new markets, or find a way to apply your for-profit career skills to social business. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Yunus encourages luring the most creative, determined workers with competitive salaries and benefits; if the financial rewards are no different, Yunus believes most people will take the job that works to solve social problems. The author also lays out the legal and financial framework for social businesses. Because they aren't recognized as a separate business category, social business founders must choose between nonprofit status, which offers tax exemptions in most nations but is strictly regulated, or for-profit status. Yunus waits with eager determination for governments to organize new categories for social businesses.Though primarily a call to action, Building Social Business also advances a strong normative stance against profit and ascribes an overly narrow role to entrepreneurship in improving human conditions. As this review will show, neither argument rests on sound theoretical foundations, and supporting evidence for his arguments is sorely lacking. It will take many more years for social businesses to prove long-term success at solving social problems.Much of Building Social Business repeats the ideas in his 2008 book, Creating a World Without Poverty, which in turn expanded on his 2006 Nobel lecture. In this earlier book, Yunus defines a "social business" and describes what he sees as the first example of it, Grameen Danone, a joint venture between Grameen Bank and the French yogurt company Groupe Danone. What distinguishes Building Social Business is the step-bystep guideline for entrepreneurs to create their own social businesses, as well as its report on two more years of Grameen Bank's joint venture social businesses; five of the nine chapters, in fact, are descriptions of Grameen' s current and impending social business partnerships.As described in the first chapter, a social business is one whose goal is to solve a social problem - to alleviate poverty or malnutrition, deliver sanitary water to rural villages, or provide some other service (affordable clothing, education, electricity, healthcare) that would otherwise be unavailable. Essentially, a social business seeks to correct a market failure - through private, philanthropic enterprise rather than government intervention. Unlike a nonprofit organization, though, a social business should be self-sustaining, rather than reliant on donations. …

Inclusive business, human rights and the dignity of the poor: a glance beyond economic impacts of adapted business models

Abstract: In recent years, a considerable amount of research on adapted business for developing countries focused on the impact such endeavours have on the respective companies as well as on the affected people. However, the main emphasis within management sciences was on the economic outcomes or (even more distinct and often) on the question of how to integrate the poor into business models and value chains. Until now, further aspects of a dignified human existence were merely covered as a side note. The article focuses on the influence of inclusive business approaches on various aspects of human dignity and provides explorative insights as a basis for future theory building. The aim is to uncover how human dignity is affected by different business approaches for the poor including and beyond economic outcomes. After giving an insight into the essence and meaning of human dignity in connection to various human rights, the articles refers to a number of illustrative cases of inclusive business. The analysis culminates in the insight that dignity can be (and sometimes already is) assured and promoted by deliberately including the poor into relevant value-added business processes. If this is the case, an enhanced dignity is not merely the result of increased incomes but stems from a variety of effects. However, such positive effects are not an inevitable outcome of any inclusive business initiative.

Social entrepreneurship and social business : an introduction and discussion with case studies

Abstract: The Field: Background, Characteristics, Definitions, Drivers, Challenges The People: Personality of Social Entrepreneurs, Human Resource Management, Volunteer Motivation, Collaborations and Partnerships The Business: Business Models, Marketing, Financing, Performance Measurement, Scaling Strategies The Market: Social Entrepreneurship in the Market System, Impact, Critical Reflections

The Effectiveness of Social Business Plan Competitions in Developing Social and Civic Awareness and Participation

Abstract: More and more universities are now delivering courses and programs to develop social awareness, but the literature on the effectiveness of these courses is currently very limited. With the introduction of “social entrepreneurship” as a new discipline within the wider ethics and social education banner, this pedagogic study explores the effectiveness of social business plan teaching in inducing social and civic awareness and intentionality among business school students. This is compared with the case study approach that is traditionally used within the classroom environment. Our study found that both approaches can be successful in raising awareness and improving the attitudes of participating students, increasing the probability that they will support socially oriented initiatives immediately or in the future. Interestingly, many students who participated in SBP teaching develop a local awareness of social and civic matters, while many of those who participated in case study learning develop a wider national and international perspective. In addition, it is found that many of those who participated in SBP development develop a deeper managerial and technical understanding of managing organizations within the social economy.

Social Business Education: An Interview With Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus

Abstract: In this interview, Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus outlines the role of social business education and its potential in teaching the next generation of social innovation leaders. Our questions and his...

The Social Enterprise Revolution in Corporate Law: A Primer on Emerging Corporate Entities in Europe and the United States and the Case for the Benefit Corporation

Abstract: Remarkably, in the face of a global recession, the social enterprise sector continued to experience extraordinary growth in both financial support and the number of newly authorized corporate entities aimed at social entrepreneurs who seek to use the power of business to simultaneously achieve profit and social or environmental benefits. This Article highlights recent developments in the social enterprise movement in Europe and the United States and focuses on the emergence of a surprisingly broad range of newly authorized corporate entities on both continents in response to the needs of social entrepreneurs. These include social cooperatives and the community interest company in Europe, as well as the L3C, the flexible purpose corporation, the social purpose corporation, and the benefit corporation in the United States. In so doing, this Article emphasizes the truly international scope of the social enterprise movement and explains the growing divergence in approaches to social enterprise between continental Europe and the United States. This Article suggests that the benefit corporation, which imposes a new duty to consider stakeholder interests, is currently the most effective vehicle through which social entrepreneurs can ensure their blended value goals are being considered and achieved. This Article concludes by responding to critiques of profit-distribution in social enterprise, making the case for the benefit corporation, and suggesting some statutory and tax reforms to further foster the social enterprise revolution.

Mission Control: Examining the Institutionalization of New Legal Forms of Social Enterprise in Different Strategic Action Fields

Abstract: During the first decade of the 21st century, new legal forms for socially motivated business enterprises have emerged in the UK and in the US creating new options for businesses active in social enterprise activities. In this chapter I examine three efforts to create new platforms for social business: the community interest company or CIC (UK), the low profit limited liability company or L3C (US) and the B Corporation (US) through the lens of social movement theory, exploring the efforts to institutionalize these new legal forms as social movements occurring in different strategic fields of action (Fligstein and McAdam, 2011). Building on recent efforts to bridge social movement analysis with organizational theory (Davis et al., 2005), this chapter includes a stakeholder analysis of each new model to sharpen the comparative focus of the investigation of the early efforts to institutionalize these new legal forms for social enterprise. Such an approach assumes that the institutionalization process is shaped both by specific characteristics of organizational form and by the larger environmental conditions surrounding the efforts to codify new legal forms and promote their use.

Social Business By Design: Transformative Social Media Strategies for the Connected Company

Abstract: From the Dachis Groupthe global leader in social businesscomes the groundbreaking book on transformative social business strategies.Social Business By Design is the definitive management book on how to rethink the modern organization in the social media era. Based on their research and work through the Dachis Group, thought leaders Dion Hinchcliffe and Peter Kim deftly explore how the social, cultural, and technological trends provoked by the social media explosion are transforming the business environment. Designed as both a strategic overview and a hands-on resource, Social Business By Design clearly shows how to choose and implement a social business strategy and maximize its impact.Explains the mechanisms, applications, and advantages of a strategic array of social media topics, including social media marketing, social product development, crowdsourcing, social supply chains, social customer relationship management, and moreFeatures examples from high-profile companies such as SAP, Procter & Gamble, MillerCoors, Bloomberg, HBO, Ford, and IBM who have implemented social business strategiesDraws on the extensive research and expertise of the Dachis Group, which has helped numerous Fortune 500 clients plan, build, and activate effective social business solutionsContaining actionable, high-impact techniques that save time and the bottom line, Social Business By Design will transform any organization's strategy to ensure success and avoid disruption in a fast-moving world.

Social Business Intelligence: a Literature Review and Research Agenda

Abstract: The domains of Business Intelligence (BI) and social media have meanwhile become significant research fields. While BI aims at supporting an organization’s decisions by providing relevant analytical data, social media is an emerging source of personal and individual knowledge, opinion, and attitudes of stakeholders. For a while, a convergence of the two domains can be observed in real-world implementations and research, resulting in concepts like social BI. Many research questions still remain open – or even worse – are not yet formulated. Therefore, the paper aims at articulating a research agenda for social BI. By means of a literature review we systematically explored previous work and developed a framework. It contrasts social media characteristics with BI design areas and is used to derive the social BI research agenda. Our results show that the integration of social media (data) into a BI system has impact on almost all BI design objects.

Social business, accountability, and performance reporting

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the theory and applications in social business and accountability.Design/methodology/approach – The paper develops the theoretical arguments, shows the importance of non‐accounting measures, explores available non‐accounting measures and suggests BSC as an externally validated reporting tool.Findings – There is a need to expand the accounting base to non‐financial measures; social business and social enterprises do not have externally validated performance reports and there is no benchmark data to compare performance.Research limitations/implications – This is a conceptual and theoretical study. It needs empirical validation.Practical implications – Using the suggested measurement and reporting will make public accountability transparent and expand the accountant's social role. It will motivate teaching of social business in accounting.Social implications – The study supports social business as a legitimate entity; corporations engaged in social busi...

Evaluation of the uses and benefits of a social business platform

Abstract: We evaluated an integrated social software platform, called Handshake, to determine individuals' usage patterns and characterize Handshake's business value. Our multi-step investigation included conducting 63 in-depth interviews, analyzing log data from 4600+ users, and administering an online survey. We found that both the level and type of participation affects whether users experience value. Active participants, for example, say that Handshake supports collaboration, strengthens social connections, fosters awareness of connections' activities, and facilitates knowledge management. This case study captures an early snapshot of behavior that we anticipate will change and grow over time.

Business Models in Social Entrepreneurship

Abstract: The book chapter provides insights into the distinct features and design principles of business models for social enterprises. Also, the advantages and disadvantages of different scaling strategies are discussed. The book chapter ends with a case study on ChancenWerk, a German-based social enterprise aiming to improve educational opportunities for students from difficult family backgrounds. The book chapter is part of one of the first student textbooks on Social Entrepreneurship. The compilation offers students a comprehensive overview of the field of social entrepreneurship. Leading European researchers and lecturers such as Ann-Kristin Achleitner, Markus Beckmann, Heather Cameron, Pascal Dey, Andreas Heinecke, Benjamin Huybrechts, Alex Nicholls, Johanna Mair, Susan Muller and Chris Steyaert have contributed to this textbook.

Social Business and big business: innovative, promising solutions to overcome poverty?

Abstract: Do big businesses have to play a role on their own in poverty alleviation? And if so, what are the means of action they are able and eager to implement? For decades, eradicating poverty has been a challenge tackled by public interventions, international development organizations, NGOs. Since the question raised about corporate responsibility, there have been more and more integrated initiatives aiming at reducing social and environmental negative impact of a company. Some are convinced there may be solutions beyond these reactive approaches, relying on more proactive projects putting the social issues in the core business vision. Social business being one of those ambitious approaches, makes the company move from its business as usual and development innovation standards to “open” “embedded” innovation leading to local market creation while addressing poverty issues. Veolia Water, in collaboration with Muhammad Yunus Founder of the Grameen Bank, decided to experiment this kind of business model innovation in Bangladesh where there is urging health concerns linked to water arsenic contamination. The experimental process helped the joint-venture adapt to novelty and complexity (contextual, socio-cultural, commercial) and progressively give birth to a real market and test an innovative business model. This learning by doing approach teaches a big company such as Veolia Water how to make the trade-off between short-term profitability and positive contribution to society through a business integrating social concerns in its value proposition. It can also lead to rethinking of its usual practices and contribute to put on a more global sustainable business perspective.

Grameen Shakti: A Renewable Energy Social Business Model for Global Replication

Abstract: Grameen Shakti (Energy), one of the companies developed by the 2006 Nobel Laureate, Professor Muhammad Yunus, has since 1996 implemented an effective model to deliver renewable energy to the off-grid areas and rural poor in Bangladesh. The Grameen Shakti renewable energy products include solar electrical energy, biogas cooking fuel, and improved efficiency stoves. The model also includes a social business component that creates employment, fosters entrepreneurship, empowers vulnerable women, youth and communities, breaks the cycle of energy poverty, and contributes to the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals. The Grameen Shakti model is expanding rapidly in Bangladesh and has begun to be replicated outside the country. Great strides in overcoming the problem of energy poverty can be achieved by replicating the Grameen Shakti model through cooperation between governments, corporations, investors, and/or social entrepreneurs, ensuring appropriate policies, and making funding available for replication. This will help us to achieve the goal of universal energy access by 2030.

Developing a Social Business Model for Zero Waste Management Systems: A Case Study Analysis

Abstract: The global gross domestic product (GDP) has increased by 40% during 1960-2000; poverty and inequity have also increased over the same time [1]. Many social scientists and economists have indicted the existing monetary-based corporate social structures with their insignificant contribution to the problem solving and social development processes. Waste is one of the major problems in every city around the globe. This study explores policy instruments in existing profit maximizing business systems and proposes an alternative business approach for the zero waste management systems. The paper proposes a conceptualized social business model for waste management systems based on a case study of two different organizations working in waste management systems in low and high consuming cities. “Waste Concern”, on one hand, is a social business enterprise, promoting waste recycling activities through the community-based decentralized composting technology using public-private community partnerships model in a low consuming city i.e. Dhaka. “Finding Workable Solutions”, on the other hand, is a non-profit organization that rehabilitates and empowers disabled peoples in high consuming city, i. e. Adelaide by collecting and transforming sellable household waste. This paper argues that waste management social business would be an opportunity for the corporate world to implement the strategy of extended producer responsibility in more successful way. Under this business model, producers can contribute more significantly in the social development process, promote value creation, ensure product stewardship and equity within the society. In addition, the conceptualized waste management social business model will endorse closed-loop resource flow in the society and will maximize resource utilization through recycling, reusing and re-gifting in the circular society.

HOUSING THE URBAN POOR: AN INTEGRATED GOVERNANCE PERSPECTIVE The Case of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract: It is claimed that low-income people in Dhaka city do not have the financial ability to enjoy adecent housing environment. There is a clear lack of knowledge on how low-income people,drawing upon b ...

Playing around an oxymoron: international business with a human face

Abstract: Purpose – The aim of this paper is to discuss the apparent paradox that multinational firms may and sometimes do pursue social benefits as their main objective.Design/methodology/approach – This paper explores the grey area that lays between some consolidated analytical concepts, namely: spillovers, corporate responsibility, social cooperation and non‐governmental organizations. It is in this grey area that “social multinationals” can be placed and examined. Scattered evidence is provided to illustrate the emergence of this relatively new phenomenon.Findings – There are weak signals that the “social multinational” is a viable institutional innovation. The economic rationale is mainly represented by what could be defined in Smithian terms as the “selfless component of self‐interest”, combined with the ex ante and ex post advantages associated to multinationality. Institutional and technological transformations have created opportunities for the emergence of this phenomenon over the past three decades. Howe...

Corporate Social Entrepreneurship and New Business Models

Abstract: The chapter analyzes social innovation at the level of the business model. The study clarifies the main characteristics and differences among alternative models of business to target the low income sector. Starting with the literature on social entrepreneurship and business models, a new theoretical framework “The Social Business Model Framework” is developed. The framework is used to identify the main characteristics of social business models and to emphasize the main area where social innovation can be applied.

Patterns in Social Entrepreneurship Research

Abstract: Contents: PART I OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FIELD OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP 1 Opportunities for Social Entrepreneurship: An Analysis of the Social Sector in Six Midwest US Areas John E Clarkin, Dayle D Deardurff and Anne Gallagher 2 A Multi-Stakeholder Perspective on Social Business Planning: Opportunity Discovery and Exploitation in the Case of Dynamo Camp Francesco Perrini and Clodia Vurro 3 Applying Disruptive Innovation Theory to Green-Tech Ventures Moriah Meyskens and Todd W Moss PART II THE KEY ROLE OF THE LEADER IN SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP 4 The Role of Personal Values in Social Entrepreneurship Michael Conger 5 Is Social Entrepreneurship Transformational Leadership in Action? Divya Bhutiani, Kimberly Flicker, Padmakumar Nair and Aard Groen PART III A STAKEHOLDER APPROACH TO STUDY SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP 6 Sustaining the Stakeholder Engagement in the Social Enterprise: The Human Resource Architecture Rita Bissola and Barbara Imperatori 7 Stakeholder Salience and Disruptive Innovation in Social Entrepreneurship Todd W Moss and Moriah Meyskens 8 Balancing Competition and Collaboration: How Early-Stage Social Ventures Succeed Aparna Katre, Paul Salipante, Barbara Bird and Sheri Perelli 9 The Dynamics and Long-Term Stability of Social Enterprise Dennis R Young, Janelle A Kerlin, Simon Teasdale and Jung-In Soh PART IV THE LEGITIMATION OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP 10 Verifying Social Enterprises: Applying Lessons from Fair-Trade and Other Certifications Elizabeth Bennett, Donald Gregory, Robert Leaver and Kelly Ramirez 11 From Private to Public: Community Institutions, Corporate Social Action, and Sustainable Economic Development Stephen J Mezias and Mohamad Fakhreddin

Chasing the Double-Bottom Line: Fair Trade and the Elusive Win—win

Abstract: Social enterprises embody a problematic proposition. They are premised on the idea that it is possible to create simultaneously social and economic value in a direct, explicit way, yet it would seem that each of these goals is in some amount in consequential tension with the other. The argument of social enterprise is nevertheless that one outcome – financial or social returns – need not be seen as the eventual by-product of focusing on the other, but rather that both can be productively pursued in an immediate sense. Scholars have only started to examine in detail how social enterprises accomplish this delicate balancing act.

Crowdsourcing in the enterprise

Abstract: This talk reviews several of the recent studies conducted by the Social Technologies group at IBM Research-Haifa, which demonstrate the use of social analytics tools to extract value of enterprise social media. From recommender systems, through activity stream filtering and analysis, to crowdsourcing games in the enterprise, the voice of the employees can now be heard and utilized better than ever within the newly formed social business.

Activating Local Society Resource Network of Social Business : Focusing on Kwangju and Jejudo

Abstract: In this study, we searched for ways of the demand, the building up of strategic, collaborative networks plan activation of the local area network status by the current social enterprise and the direction of the future resources rinks, conducted by a case study of the (preliminary) social enterprise network-building activities based in Gwangju Metropolitan City and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province. By the study findings, local resources that the two regions social enterprise wants to connect are the most numerous in enterprise, public agencies and local media, followed by professionals` pro bo no, private organizations, volunteer groups. Hope for Information in conjunction is revealed in order by purchasing items, labor and financial support, public relations, purchasing service, marketing and a joint venture. For the conjunction, participating related events, the assistance of government agencies and related organizations joined, the role of chief engineer are emerged in order while they are performing work. By the findings, for the activation of local resources links of the social enterprises, it is necessary to impelled cooperation system between activating local profit companies, universities and one company ; a social enterprise and to uncovered volunteer activities of the community. Also, sparking, solidarity and building trust for social enterprises are derived as a ethical and alternative consumer movement.

The Influence of Social Business Networks of Top Managers on the Financial Performance of UK Biopharmaceutical SMEs

Abstract: The influence of business social networks on the financial performance of entrepreneurial ventures was extensively studied in the literature. However, a need for a more dynamic perspective, centered on firms’ evolution, was identified by academics and professionals. This chapter attempts to address this knowledge gap, investigating a sample of UK biopharmaceutical SMEs, from various stages of the corporate lifecycle. This approach permits a comparison between the structure of formal and informal networks of the manager/entrepreneur, in various corporate phases of evolution, and an analysis of the statistical relation between the size of networks and specific financial performance indicators. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-3886-0.ch070