Social Enterprise Research Articles

When social enterprise ecosystem shapes national public policy: examining Brazil’s national impact economy strategy

PurposeSocial enterprises are embedded in ecosystems with multiple actors interested in the field’s growth. One way to enhance social enterprises is through public policies and developing countries like Brazil included this in the public agenda. After an important mobilization of private organizations and public managers, the Brazilian federal government implemented in 2017 the National Impact Investment and Business Strategy (ENIMPACTO) renamed in 2023 to National Impact Economy Strategy with the same abbreviation. Since its creation, ENIMPACTO saw significant modifications leading to a decree in 2023 extending its mandate, amplifying membership and changing its name to the National Impact Economy Strategy while maintaining the same acronym. This experience leads us to the following question: How was ENIMPACTO created and developed?Design/methodology/approachWe used institutional arrangements and advocacy coalition theory to analyze the key elements that contributed to ENIMPACTO’s creation and its evolution through time. A qualitative, single-case study on the Brazilian experience implementing ENIMPACTO was conducted through semi-structured interviews with national strategy members, participant observation, document and data analysis.FindingsWe argue that advocacy coalition and institutional arrangements frameworks combined are needed to understand Enimpacto’s complexity. The strategy presented an extensive multiple-actor articulation involving shared beliefs that were also important to gather support on recreating and expanding Enimpacto when external events threatened its continuity. Yet, it presented important challenges on how to achieve consensus and alignment regarding important concepts and regulation strategy among the actors and manage the public policy governance and activities implementation.Originality/valueWe combine institutional arrangements and advocacy coalition frameworks and apply them to analyze a public policy composed of actors of multiple sectors that play an active advocacy coalition role. We also present empirical evidence that elements of the advocacy coalition framework add analytical elements to institutional arrangements literature and how they affect each other. We point to two important elements of the institutional arrangements framework (territoriality and subsidiarity) that were not initially considered by ENIMPACTO and were later incorporated because of tensions in the field. We provide empirical evidence of the incipient role that public administration can play in promoting social enterprises' agenda that might base similar strategies to boost social enterprises in other locations.

Millet magic foundation: a social initiative for alleviating poverty of the indigenous tribes of Mayurbhanj

Research methodology The case study is based on a social entrepreneurial journey where the authors have used an interview method to get the insights from the protagonists and the employees. Rigorous interviews were conducted online and in person for deep analysis of the protagonist’s strategies and decisive dilemma. Secondary data was collected from company’s website for facts and figures. Case overview/synopsis This case study is a story of indigenous tribes of Odisha from the eyes of a woman who, with her co-founder, empathized with their vulnerable life and took on the challenge of creating sustainable livelihoods by establishing Millet Magic Foundation. The Millet Magic Foundation was established in 2021 by Shyama and her cofounder to uplift the indigenous tribe of Mayurbhanj by providing them livelihood through millet-based products. The foundation launched their millet-based snack products with the brand name WOWMOM. Millet Magic Foundation created social impact for the tribals by providing them with employment, fair wages, health care and social well-being. The specialty of the Millet Magic was reverse positioning and focusing on the bottom of the pyramid. The success of the Millet Magic Foundation relied on its mission to uplift the life of these indigenous tribal, especially the women, by overcoming the challenges with the strategies to establish Millet Magic as a social enterprise. Complexity academic level The case study is primarily suitable for postgraduate programme to teach the concept of social entrepreneurship in the entrepreneurship module. The case study can also be used for highlighting the role of social enterprise in sustainable economic development of emerging economies.

Social enterprise governance and labor equity: the emerging role of work-integrated social enterprises in a niche labor market

PurposeThis paper analyzes how a national social enterprise policy encourages the social missions of social enterprises and uncovers the relationships between social enterprise governance and labor equity, an area that has been rarely studied in nonprofit governance studies.Design/methodology/approachThe study analyzes the effects of four legal requirements for work-integrated social enterprises (WISEs) codified by the Social Enterprises Promotion Act (SEPA, 2007) in South Korea. Then, it relies on panel regression analysis (2020–2022) to examine how the compositions of the governance of WISEs are related to their hiring and wage equity.FindingsThe institutional arrangements required by SEPA have resulted in positive social impacts for most WISEs. However, the results of regression models show that individual participant groups in the WISE governance achieved mixed results depending on the labor issue.Research limitations/implicationsGenerally, this research explores the concept of diversity and its utility in nonprofit governance, with a particular focus on targeted diversity policies, demonstrating that governance arrangements influence the success of these policies.Practical implicationsThe findings bring new insights for policymakers about “altruistic economic entities.” For practitioners in social enterprises, the results of the regression models underscore the importance of understanding the participant composition of decision-making meetings.Originality/valueThis study sheds light on labor equity, which government-certified social enterprises should achieve from the perspective of nonprofit governance.

Exploring the role of narrative in social enterprise and social innovation

PurposeThis paper aims to examine how the fields of social enterprise, social entrepreneurship and social innovation have theorised and applied the concepts of narrative and storytelling.Design/methodology/approachA literature review and subsequent thematic analysis were used. A keyword search of three databases identified 93 relevant articles that were subsequently reviewed for this paper.FindingsFour main roles for storytelling and narrative were found in the literature: to gain support for social innovation, to inspire social change, to build a social-entrepreneurial identity and to debate the meaning and direction of social innovation itself.Practical implicationsFollowing the literature review, capacities and applications of storytelling and narrative in other, related fields are discussed to highlight practical use cases of storytelling that might currently be underdeveloped in the social enterprise and innovation sectors.Originality/valueThe paper argues that the social innovation and enterprise literature predominantly views storytelling as a form of mass communication, while often overlooking its ability to foster communal debate and organise intrapersonal dialogue as possible aspects of strategic thinking and innovation management in social enterprise, social entrepreneurship and social innovation.

Stakeholders self‐organization and adaptive governance in social enterprises: Membership representation, worker control and client orientation

AbstractThe article uses elements of complexity theory, social systems theory, and new institutionalism to analyse stakeholder self‐organization in Italian non‐profit social enterprises. Organizational development goes through an evolutionary process of trial and error, in which stakeholder self‐organization produces governance rules and routines to achieve adaptation and resilience in a changing socioeconomic environment. Survey data regarding social cooperatives, which are prevalent in Italy as a form of social enterprise, display how diverse stakeholders engage in self‐organization and self‐positioning within key governance bodies of membership and board of directors. The results demonstrate that in the absence of investor ownership, producers, especially paid staff but also volunteer workers, assume the main responsibility for decision‐making and control. Client orientation, the production of economic and social value in favour of customers and users, is achieved in a context of high relational intensity through participation in the co‐production and co‐creation of services, as well as the pooling of non‐commercial resources and favourable price discrimination, less through participation in decision‐making and control. This emerging evolutionary pattern can support the development of new organizational and business models for social enterprises.

Environmental and social governance performance and enterprise total factor productivity

AbstractWith the popularity of both green development and sustainable investment concepts, evaluation of environmental performance, social responsibility and corporate governance (ESG) is the way for enterprises to protect the environment and, at the same time, interact with stakeholders. This paper first analyses how ESG influences corporate total factor productivity (TFP), then, using A‐share listed company data from 2009 to 2021, conducts an empirical test proving that ESG greatly boosts TFP. Examination of the intermediate mechanism reveals that ESG can improve TFP by raising R&D investment, enhancing the attention of stakeholders, and increasing internal control capabilities. The heterogeneity study shows that, for state‐owned firms, non‐polluting industries, and small‐scale and low‐market degree enterprises, ESG enhances TFP more. Further analysis indicates that ESG uncertainty and ESG catering behaviour will weaken the fostering impact, but environmental regulation has a beneficial regulatory role.

Navigating Cross-Sector Partnerships: Innovative Strategies and Challenges for Work Integration Social Enterprises in France

In recent years, ground breaking approaches have emerged to dismantle entry barriers in the labour market for individuals facing substantial challenges. The prevailing labour market policies predominantly centre around the activation strategy, however, vulnerable groups, grappling with individual and contextual obstacles, encounter difficulties overcoming societal stigmas to secure lasting employment. This study delves into how WISEs experiment with cross-sector partnerships (CSPs) to tackle these challenges. Through collaboration with public authorities and private entities, WISEs convert transitional initiatives into enduring, valuable experiences for beneficiaries. The paper scrutinises two case studies, shedding light on tensions encountered and how organisations navigate tensions to uphold social objectives amid partnerships with entities possessing distinct logics and goals. Despite the success in providing positive experiences and practical skills, CSPs introduce complexity and inter-organisational tensions. The research identifies mechanisms and strategies employed by WISEs to prevent mission drift and sustain a focus on work integration. The study underscores the imperative for further research on CSPs in work integration, recognising their increasing individual, local and policy impact, along with the organisational implications they entail.

Empirical analysis of social impacts of a rural social enterprise: insights for local and regional development

ABSTRACT In developing countries the most marginalised and disadvantaged people are in rural, remote and regional areas and social enterprises in these areas – rural social enterprises (RSEs) – have been identified as key development actors in this context. However, their impacts are rarely rigorously measured. Our study fills this gap by measuring an RSE’s social impact in a developing country. A smallholder farmers’ survey (n = 1021) is utilised in a propensity score-based method which allowed us to generate counterfactual and estimate outcomes between members and non-members of an RSE. This method was complemented by a stakeholder focus group discussion. Predictors of participation and social impacts of the RSE are identified besides an evaluation of its interventions. Results generate implications for social enterprise practitioners, supporters and policymakers interested in applying RSEs as local and regional development actors as well as researchers involved in social impact measurement.

Social entrepreneurship and social innovation: A bibliometric review and research agenda

Despite the increasing focus on scientific maturity in social entrepreneurship (SE) and social innovation (SI), scholars still place a greater focus on defining theoretical boundaries than on the commonalities and complementarities between these phenomena. We address this gap by investigating when, how, and to what extent SE and SI are interrelated via a bibliometric analysis of the intersection of the SE and SI theoretical domains that combines cocitation analysis, historiography, and bibliographic coupling. Building on these results, we advance the theoretical debate by introducing a novel framework, documenting that while the SI process can occur beyond social enterprises’ boundaries, SE can contribute to creating, enabling, and scaling SI solutions. Moreover, we document historical convergence in a new trend accompanying the increase in SI research under the SE umbrella. This leads to a research agenda that can prompt the cross-pollination of these theories, fostering a novel theoretical construct through this combination.

Social Entrepreneurship, Employment, and Financial Performance: A Latent Growth Modeling Approach

The social value created by organizations has been in the spotlight during periods of rapid social change, such as COVID-19. However, the existing literature has been limited by the inability to demonstrate the cumulative effects of social value over time, which has led to academic and practical limitations. Drawing on stakeholder theory, socially responsible customer behavior, and institutional theory, the author collected data from 208 social enterprises in South Korea over 3 years, from 2017 to 2019, and tested hypotheses using latent growth modeling. This analytical technique, which uses structural equation modeling, estimates the latent growth rate of each data measure by year and analyzes the causal relationship between the growth rate of each variable. The results show that higher levels of social entrepreneurship are associated with higher growth rates of total employment and vulnerable worker employment, followed by higher growth rates of financial performance. The implications of this paper are as follows. First, this study reports that social entrepreneurship can help social enterprises develop sustainably by increasing financial performance. Second, this study overcomes the methodological limitations of the existing literature by reporting the relationship between growth rates. Third, this study reports that social enterprises can help solve employment problems for vulnerable populations, who are often the first to be affected by the economic crisis. Fourth, this study contributes to resolving the conflicting and contradictory perspectives of practitioners and academics on the relationship between social and economic value. Fifth, it offers suggestions for the future direction of the academic field.

179 Clinical and Translational Researchers from Underrepresented Groups Identify the Barriers they Experience

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Using the NIH’s expanded definition of underrepresented populations in the biomedical, clinical, behavioral and social science research enterprise, we examined the impediments for conducting translational research experienced by those from underrepresented groups. [https://acts.slayte.com/calls/detail/740a13de-316c-11ee-90f4-0e0ce905385c/draft/389221c1-434e-11ee-90f4-0e0ce905385c#_ftn1] #_ftn1 METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: One hundred and ninety-nine people completed a survey distributed to 750 persons who had interacted with our Center’s service cores as users, awardees, mentors, committee members, seminar attendees, and/or participated Center sponsored programming (response rate = 26.5%). The survey addressed barriers to conducting clinical and translational research at the respondent’s institution, awareness of and interest in using specific Advance RI-CTR services, and satisfaction with their institution’s efforts to support clinical and translational research. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Women reported access to collaboration across institutions as a barrier to clinical and translational research that existed to a great extent (28%) significantly more than men (10%). More than half (53%) of the other underrepresented researchers surveyed identified insufficient grant administration supportas a barrier that occurs to a great extent, compared with 35% of researchers who were not from an underrepresented group. Other barriers reported more frequently among underrepresented researchers included lack of pilot project funding, inadequate space for conducting research, lower access to collaborators across institutions, and difficulty obtaining advice on regulatory issues and commercial development. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Efforts to address the barriers identified by underrepresented groups will include, but not be limited to, improving collaborations across institutions, support for grant administration, and a discussion of plans for the Center to augment and advocate at the partner institutions on behalf of these underrepresented individuals.

Determinants of the Development of Social Enterprises in the Lagging Region of Warmia and Mazury

Determinants of the Development of Social Enterprises in the Lagging Region of Warmia and Mazury

Visionary Leadership and Dynamic Capabilities: Transforming Pesantren into a Social Enterprise

In the dynamic landscape of Indonesia's education and community development, Pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) have been traditional beacons of spiritual and moral guidance. Amidst evolving socio-economic challenges, these institutions are increasingly adopting the mantle of social entrepreneurship to extend their influence and impact. This study explores the transformation of Pesantren Riyadlul Jannah Pacet into a social enterprise, emphasizing the critical role of visionary leadership and dynamic capabilities. Utilizing a qualitative case study approach, it investigates how the Pesantren adapts and innovates while retaining its core religious and educational values. The research, through extensive interviews, observations, and document analysis, unveils the strategies and initiatives that have led to significant community and socio-economic advancements. It offers profound insights into the integration of traditional religious education with contemporary entrepreneurial practices, highlighting the potential of Pesantrens as agents of sustainable change and innovation. This study contributes to the broader discourse on the adaptive and transformative capacity of educational institutions in the face of societal needs and opportunities.

Sustainability Impact: A Representation of Social Enterprise Value

Social enterprises have a unique characteristic in their business objectives, which is the element of profit as well as creating value that addresses social issues in society. In practice, the sustainability impact represents the value that shows how social enterprises establish strategies, conduct daily operations, and build partnerships with stakeholders. Therefore, this study aims to explore and understand the meaning of "impact" from the perspective of social enterprise actors. The research data consists of observations and interviews with social enterprise business actors, as well as documentation related to the research theme. Data analysis was conducted using a case study approach, which involves data reduction, coding, and theme determination, followed by interpreting the analysis results to address the research problem. The findings illustrate that the impact for social enterprises can be interpreted as creating positive changes in the lives of people in society. This is ingrained from the strategy setting to daily operations because success for a social enterprise is not only measured by profit but also by the social impact generated. Additionally, a social enterprise is also considered a green business when impact thinking correlates with sustainability principles.

ASSESSMENT OF THE SOCIO-ENTREPRENEURIAL ENVIRONMENT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Establishing a socio-entrepreneurial approach and combining social innovation with traditional academic pursuits is something that higher education institutions (HEIs) are moving toward more and more. This article examines how HEIs can promote constructive social change by giving graduates the knowledge and perspective needed to deal with societal issues. The benefits of a socio-entrepreneurial approach are examined in the literature review, which includes promoting inclusive education, helping graduates develop their social and entrepreneurial skills, and supporting social enterprise endeavors. Important elements for creating a strong socio-entrepreneurial ecosystem in higher education institutions (HEIs) are highlighted, including creating innovative curricula, encouraging cooperation with outside partners, and creating welcoming environments for student businesses. The article's conclusion highlights the difficulties and possibilities posed by this strategy and underlines the necessity of more study to maximize the influence of socio-entrepreneurial HEIs.

Participation of Community Social Enterprises in Community Governance

Participation of Community Social Enterprises in Community Governance

Legal Assessment of the Condition of Recourse to Domestic Judicial Authorities in the Judicial Procedures of the European Court of Human Rights with a view to the Case of Salahuddin Anju and others v. Turkey

The authoress outlines new welfare models and community enterprises, in the context of the Third Economy, with the aim of defining guidelines and interventions for the promotion of social enterprise and the strengthening of the social and solidarity economy. The Third Economy understands enterprise as an integral part of society and aims to create a new economic model that combines profit and sustainable development in line with the goals set by Agenda 2030. The goal is to define new development paradigms that put people at the centre, heeding the next generation. Sustainability is the file rouge of this study offering a rich review of the literature on the concept of the commons, while illustrating practices that have already been initiated. The essay also discusses the draft law on Community Social Enterprises as a welfare model, and concludes with de iure condendo perspectives. Keywords: Welfare; Commons; Third economy; Worker partcipation; Social responsibility.

New Welfare Models and Community Enterprises: Commons and Sustainable Economy

The authoress outlines new welfare models and community enterprises, in the context of the Third Economy, with the aim of defining guidelines and interventions for the promotion of social enterprise and the strengthening of the social and solidarity economy. The Third Economy understands enterprise as an integral part of society and aims to create a new economic model that combines profit and sustainable development in line with the goals set by Agenda 2030. The goal is to define new development paradigms that put people at the centre, heeding the next generation. Sustainability is the file rouge of this study offering a rich review of the literature on the concept of the commons, while illustrating practices that have already been initiated. The essay also discusses the draft law on Community Social Enterprises as a welfare model, and concludes with de iure condendo perspectives. Keywords: Welfare; Commons; Third economy; Worker partcipation; Social responsibility.

Driving corporate social responsibility to be innovative: Insights from a systematic literature review

AbstractCorporate social responsibility (CSR) is increasingly under pressure to tackle social and environmental challenges using innovative approaches that benefit both companies and society. This study presents a comprehensive overview of the relevant research on the intersection of CSR and innovation since 1996. Through a bibliometric analysis and literature review of 1362 articles, the study identifies three distinct stages in the evolution of this dual theme: an infancy stage (1996–2005), a rapid growth stage (2006–2015), and an explosive growth stage (2016‐present). By analyzing the studies, subfields, and theories in each stage, we identify the approaches and challenges in CSR innovation research. Notably, digital organizational culture, sensitivity analysis, and social enterprise have emerged as current major concerns, while sustainable development and analysis methods have emerged as challenges in addressing CSR innovation. Based on these findings, we propose several future research opportunities for CSR innovation research.

Государственное регулирование развития малого бизнеса в социальной сфере

Social entrepreneurship as a special type of business is aimed at reducing social tension in society, ensuring employment, accessibility and variety of social services. Most social entrepreneurs in Russia belong to the category of small businesses. Improving state regulation of the development of small social entrepreneurship helps to reduce the severity of social problems and strengthen interaction between the state and business on this issue. The purpose of the article is to assess trends in the development of small social entrepreneurship in the country, current measures of state regulation and develop proposals for their improvement. The study revealed trends in the development of small businesses in the social sphere in Russia, reflecting high growth rates in the number of small social entrepreneurship entities, its spread to various areas of activity with a predominance in the areas of education, social services and sports and leisure. The growth in the number of social entrepreneurs is mostly observed in large conglomerations. However, the continuing low share of social enterprises in the total number of small businesses in the country, the analysis of the implemented measures of state support for them, does not allow us to draw a conclusion about the sufficiency of the conditions created in the country for the support and promotion of social entrepreneurship. State regulation of the development of small social entrepreneurship is proposed to be carried out in the direction of improving the institutional environment, expanding the range of entities that ensure the development and promotion of small businesses in the social sphere.