Social Entrepreneurship And Innovation

Social entrepreneurship and social innovation both seek to improve the world through social change. Whereas social entrepreneurship revolves around the business side of change, social innovation focuses on the processes through which that change is generated. This textbook provides a comprehensive analysis of both topics, covering all the characteristics and elements of social innovation and social entrepreneurship, from a conceptual and practical perspective. The book has four sections: 1) Basics and concepts of Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship; 2) Business models and generation of value in social enterprises; 3) Social innovation within traditional companies, and 4) Definition and alignment of the impact of social innovation and entrepreneurship. Students and any practitioners that want to know about social innovation or social entrepreneurship will be exposed to contemporary topics in the field as well as a variety of cases and tools for its development. With its learning objectives, reflective questions, the definition of key concepts, and exercises, this book is the definitive text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in social innovation and social entrepreneurship.

Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Rural Europe investigates how social entrepreneurship advances social innovation in rural Europe and contributes to fighting social and economic challenges in these regions. Based on longitudinal data collected in four European countries, this book explains how social enterprises enact their business model based on an entrepreneurial reconfiguration of resources they obtain from their network relations, and how their activities empower local communities, driving change and eventually innovation. In these activities, the entrepreneurial mindset and the role as intermediary between different groups and domains of society help to reframe challenges into opportunities. The argument in this book develops from a description of what social enterprises report to do to an analysis of how they do it, and results in an explanation of why they take these actions. In doing so it gradually broadens the view from a focus on the social enterprises themselves to their interactions and network partners and, finally, to their positioning in societal fields. The presented model complements network theory with the concept of strategic action fields. This book reveals the crucial role of social entrepreneurship in innovation in rural regions, and the rich insights provided have far reaching implications for research, practice and policy. This book will appeal to everyone interested in the interface of social entrepreneurship, innovation, and regional/rural development, either on a practical or academic level.

Social innovation and social entrepreneurship look for creative and affordable solutions to specific societal problems. Fuelled by the spread of the internet and the ubiquity of mobile phones, there are more people working to solve pressing social and environmental problems in the world today than ever before. Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation presents the journeys of pioneering - and often accidental - social innovators who, faced with a problem, used their courage, tenacity and creative thinking to find a solution. Using their own words to reflect upon their experiences, these cases do not gloss over the setbacks and the dead-ends social entrepreneurs can face. Instead, readers will gain a realistic insight into the challenges and an engaging look at the problem-solving mindset needed to overcome them. From a life-saving project to bring solar-powered lighting to midwives in Nigeria, to a news dissemination service that's grown from small beginnings to have a global impact, each case study draws out the lessons learnt by the innovators, providing guidance and advice for those looking to follow in their footsteps. Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation is an invaluable resource for social entrepreneurs and innovators looking for new ideas and insight into what really works - and what doesn't.

This accessible textbook provides a comprehensive guide to the building blocks of sustainable social enterprise, exploring how core elements contribute to either the success or failure of the social venture. It analyzes the key skills needed to synthesize effective business practices with effective social innovation and points out both what works and what does not. Taking a practical approach, it demonstrates how big ideas can be transformed into entities that produce lasting change.

In recent years, social innovation has experienced a steep career. Numerous national governments and large organisations like the OECD, the European Commission and UNESCO have adopted the term. Social innovation basically means that people adopt new social practices in order to meet social needs in a different or more effective way. Prominent examples of the past are the Red Cross and the social welfare state or, at present, the internet 2.0 transforming our communication and cooperation schemes, requiring new management concepts, even empowering social revolutions. The traditional concept of innovation as successful new technological products needs fundamental rethinking in a society marked by knowledge and services, leading to a new and enriched paradigm of innovation. There is multiple evidence that social innovation will become of growing importance not only concerning social integration, equal opportunities and dealing with the greenhouse effects but also with regard to preserving and expanding the innovative capacity of companies and societies. While political authorities stress the social facets of social innovation, this book also encompasses its societal and systemic dimensions, collecting the scientific expertise of renowned experts and scholars from all over the world. Based on the contributions of the first world-wide science convention on social innovation from September 2011 in Vienna, the book provides an overview of scientific approaches to this still relatively new field. Forewords by Agnès HUBERT (Member of the Bureau of European Policy Advisers (BEPA) of the European Commission) and Antonella Noya (Senior Policy Analyst at OECD, manager of the OECD LEED Forum on Social Innovations)

Leaders are the most important element of an organization in regards to reaching organizational goals, motivating followers to perform better, and creating an innovative work environment. To conform with successful corporate social responsibility implementations, social entrepreneurship practices have gained more importance with the development of digital technology. Leadership Styles, Innovation, and Social Entrepreneurship in the Era of Digitalization is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on the application of business organizations operating in a global, complex environment. While highlighting topics such as business ethics, operations management, and social capital, this publication explores recent technological advances and the methods of the latest management skills and techniques. This book is ideally designed for human resources professionals, managers, leaders, executives, CEOs, specialists, consultants, researchers, students, and professors seeking current research on human resources management and management information systems in a digital society.

Who drives transformation in society? How do they do it? In this compelling book, strategy guru Roger L. Martin and Skoll Foundation President and CEO Sally R. Osberg describe how social entrepreneurs target systems that exist in a stable but unjust equilibrium and transform them into entirely new, superior, and sustainable equilibria. All of these leaders--call them disrupters, visionaries, or changemakers--develop, build, and scale their solutions in ways that bring about the truly revolutionary change that makes the world a fairer and better place. The book begins with a probing and useful theory of social entrepreneurship, moving through history to illuminate what it is, how it works, and the nature of its role in modern society. The authors then set out a framework for understanding how successful social entrepreneuars actually go about producing transformative change. There are four key stages: understanding the world; envisioning a new future; building a model for change; and scaling the solution. With both depth and nuance, Martin and Osberg offer rich examples and personal stories and share lessons and tools invaluable to anyone who aspires to drive positive change, whatever the context. Getting Beyond Better sets forth a bold new framework, demonstrating how and why meaningful change actually happens in the world and providing concrete lessons and a practical model for businesses, policymakers, civil society organizations, and individuals who seek to transform our world for good.

“The fourth sector” consists of for-benefit organizations that combine market-based approaches of the private sector with the social and environmental aims of the public and non-profit sectors. This book examines successful experiences around the world in entrepreneurship in the fourth sector in recent times. The chapters also reveal the pivotal role of the public sector collaboration with private entities in solving the problems of humanity.