![Understanding Social Entrepreneurship](https://img.perlego.com/book-covers/2194036/9781000041545_300_450.webp)
Understanding Social Entrepreneurship
The Relentless Pursuit of Mission in an Ever Changing World
Jill Kickul, Thomas S. Lyons
- 344 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Understanding Social Entrepreneurship
The Relentless Pursuit of Mission in an Ever Changing World
Jill Kickul, Thomas S. Lyons
About This Book
Understanding Social Entrepreneurship is the leading textbook that provides students with a comprehensive overview of the field. It brings the mindset, principles, strategies, tools, and techniques of entrepreneurship into the social sector to present innovative solutions to today's vexing social issues.
Kickul and Lyons cover all the key topics relevant to social entrepreneurship, including a detailed examination of each of the steps in the entrepreneurial process. This third edition includes several new features:
-
- A process-oriented format, taking students through discovery, design, development, and delivery
-
- Two new chapters: one on lean start-up and design thinking for social entrepreneurship, and another on unconventional approaches from developing countries
-
- Updated and new case studies, with improved global coverage
-
- "Voices from the Field" sections that explore evidence-based research from the field.
Bringing together a rigorous theoretical foundation and a strong practical focus, this is the go-to resource for students of social entrepreneurship at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
A companion website includes an instructor's manual, PowerPoint slides, a test bank, and other tools to provide additional support for students and instructors.
Frequently asked questions
Chapter 1
Introduction
- To understand the economic considerations, particularly market failures, that make social entrepreneurship desirable and necessary.
- To recognize why governments are sometimes unable to solve social and/or environmental problems.
- To understand why private businesses are sometimes unwilling to address social and/or environmental problems.
- To become familiar with the relatively recent developments that make social entrepreneurship possible.
- To understand the characteristics of social entrepreneurship that position it as a powerful force for solving society’s problems.
THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS AND OUR VEXING SOCIAL PROBLEMS
WHY THE TIME IS RIPE FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP'S UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS
- ∎ It is passionate and personal in that the social entrepreneur has chosen the problem to be addressed because it has deep meaning to her or him. Whether that meaning derives from personal experience, second-hand knowledge, or an avocation, it sparks an intense desire to pursue a solution to the identified problem. This is not to suggest that politicians and public officials are not passionate about certain issues, but their passion is often tempered by political realities that preclude a single-minded pursuit of an issue’s resolution. Similarly, commercial entrepreneurs are typically quite passionate about their product or service, but that passion centers around the offering’s ability to satisfy a customer need and thereby generate a profit for the business owner(s).Thus, the difference between social entrepreneurs, government officials, and private business people relative to passion is the source of that passion; that is, the values that underlie it. Social entrepreneurship is often referred to as value-based (Cho, 2006; Brooks, 2008). This could be misleading, however. There are values that drive the actions of all three actors; these values merely differ from role to role. For the public official, it may be political expediency. For the commercial business person, it may be profit. For the social entrepreneur, the values are moral in nature, involving empathy for the plight of the beneficiaries of her or his efforts and some kind of judgment regarding the “rightness” of addressing the underlying problem (Mair & Noboa, 2006). Such morally based values have the power to drive the level of passion that is unique to social entrepreneurs.
- ∎ It is not bureaucratic; it is nimble. Unlike governments or large companies, social entrepreneurship is not reactive or bound by cumbersome rules and processes. Like small commercial ventures, social ventures are nimble and strategic. They move quickly and decisively to address problems. Entrepreneurs recognize that there is a “window of opportunity” for capturing any market, which does not remain open indefinitely. Similarly, social entrepreneurs understand that social and environmental solutions have limited periods of effectiveness, which are always changing. This makes agility in adapting to changes crucial.
- ∎ It enables transformation. Most of what is delivered to customers or clients or citizens by private businesses and by governments is conveyed by transaction. Goods and services are exchanged through short-term transactional relationships. This works as far as it goes, but it does not bring long-term change; it does not yield transformation. Social and environmental problems are not solved through transactions. Giving a starving individual food does not end hunger in the world. Some people seem to think that piling up transactions can yield a transformation. However, giving 1,000 hungry individuals food will still not end world hunger. Not until the system that spawns hunger is permanently changed for the better will hunger be ended on a global scale. This kind of systemic change, yielding long-term benefits, is the focus of social entrepreneurs.
- ∎ It builds, maintains, and utilizes social capital. A crucial factor in all entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship in particular, is networking. Bringing people and organizations together to focus attention on a problem, to marshal resources from a variety of places to implement solutions, and to effectively communicate outcomes are what gives social entrepreneurship its power. These networks of trust are built on a shared mission and vision for positive change. The public and private sectors are typically focused on adversarial relationships and competition. Political parties compete to control the policy agenda. Warring ideologies bludgeon each other over who is “right.” Important decisions are reached using win–lose mechanisms that work for some and leave others out. Commercial businesses compete with others for market share, with the tacit, if not implicit, goal of putting the competition out of business.Social entrepreneurs embrace the concept of “co-opetition” ( Brandenburg...
Table of contents
- Cover
- Half Title
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- About the Authors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Defining and Distinguishing Social Entrepreneurship
- 3 Recognizing Social Opportunities
- 4 Designing and Modeling a Social Venture
- 5 Developing a Strategic Plan for a Social Venture
- 6 Organizational Structure
- 7 Funding Social Ventures
- 8 Measuring Social Impact
- 9 Scaling the Social Venture
- 10 Social Intrapreneurship
- 11 Social Entrepreneurship and Environmental Sustainability
- 12 The Social Entrepreneurship Support Ecosystem
- 13 Social Entrepreneurship Models in Developing Countries
- 14 The Future of Social Entrepreneurship
- Index