Abstract
Adopting an inductive theory building approach through qualitative research methodology of data collection and analysis spread across six months, followed by inter-rater reliability testing using quantitative technique, this empirical study researches the meaning of the ‘social enterprise’ construct in the Indian context, and develops a conceptual framework that represents the construct. This sets an orientation needed for aspiring social entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurship researchers to ease out their understanding of the ‘social entrepreneurship’ phenomenon within the boundaries of an Indian context. The contested nature of the phenomenon in discourses across the globe is largely due to local/regional/national variations in practice. ‘Market Orientation’, ‘Social Value Creation’, ‘Social Entrepreneur’, and ‘Balanced Impact’ emerged as key constructs comprising Indian social enterprises. The principle philosophical paradigms for this theory construction are Social Constructionism and Interpretivism, which give impetus to reflective and analytical thought trials for extracting the conceptual framework interwoven in textual data. The study sets course for further research to refine the vocabulary list, identify conceptual densities, create scales for statistical inquiries, and enable further inclusiveness of the conceptual framework.
Highlights
A rich collection of peer-reviewed scholarly literature is available today after close to two decades of social entrepreneurship research
The relevance and novelty of this empirical study is that it intends to research the meaning of social entrepreneurship in the Indian context by exploring the social construction of different sector experts, who are the brains working fingers to the bone to build the social entrepreneurship eco-system in the country
One of the social entrepreneurs believed: “A social enterprise is an enterprise which identifies a social problem in a local context, applies a business plan, and utilizes it as an opportunity to ensure a gradual process of social change”
Summary
A rich collection of peer-reviewed scholarly literature is available today after close to two decades of social entrepreneurship research. This has escalated acceptance and enabled better understanding of the phenomenon globally. The proliferation of grey literature, as well as empirical and conceptual literature, has led to the discovery of different dimensions of the phenomenon across different local/national/regional contexts (Peredo & McLean 2006; Dacin, Dacin, & Matear 2010; Doherty, Haugh, & Lyon 2014; Sengupta & Sahay 2017a). The convergence of concepts emerging on the construct across peer-reviewed scholarly literature leads to a common understanding that social enterprises are of a hybrid nature, which marries ‘market’ and ‘social’ for a double bottom line (Sengupta & Sahay 2017a). The convergence of concepts emerging on the construct across peer-reviewed scholarly literature leads to a common understanding that social enterprises are of a hybrid nature, which marries ‘market’ and ‘social’ for a double bottom line (Sengupta & Sahay 2017a). Hoque and Nahid (2015) had suggested that business mission and market exploitation are quite central constructs in the phenomenon
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