CASE: HOW SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS THINK GLOBAL

Background:  

Companies that embrace the mission of social entrepreneurship utilize business practices in the solution of societal evils, the concept of building a profitable business model in which doing good is an essential part of the business and not just a philanthropic sideline has grown in popularity, especially in light of turbulence in the global economy. Both governments and the private sector have been searching for innovative ways to bring back prosperity, and many regard these entrepreneurs as a powerful tool for change. Social enterprises are born global for three reasons. First, social problems exist on a large scale in many developing countries. Second, the resources (funds, institutions, and governance systems) are mainly in the developed world. Third, global for-profit social enterprises that tackle specific conditions can often be adapted to other similar countries and situations.

 

Problems:

Social problems exist on a large scale in many developing countries.    

Theories:

Contemporary writers in management and business have presented a wide range of theories of entrepreneurship. Many of the leading thinkers remain true to the Say-Schumpeter tradition while offering variations on the theme. For instance, in his attempt to get at what is special about entrepreneurs, Peter Drucker starts with Say’s definition, but amplifies it to focus on opportunity. Drucker does not require entrepreneurs to cause change, but sees them as exploiting the opportunities that change (in technology, consumer preferences, social norms, etc.) creates. He says, “This defines entrepreneur and entrepreneurship—the entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity.” The notion of “opportunity” has come to be central to many current definitions of entrepreneurship. It is the way today’s management theorists capture Say’s notion of shifting resources to areas of higher yield. An opportunity, presumably, means an opportunity to create value in this way. Entrepreneurs have a mind-set that sees the possibilities rather than the problems created by change.

 

Conclusion:

Social entrepreneurs are the entrepreneurs who “recognize that a part of society is stuck and provide new ways to get it unstuck” They act as change agents in the social sector: they innovate and act according to the desire to create and sustain social value and consider themselves to be accountable “to the constituencies they serve for the outcomes they achieve”. In short, they are “one species within the genus ‘entrepreneur’. They are entrepreneurs with a social mission” Such a definition captures a whole spectrum of social entrepreneurial activity, however, not all of which needs to be either generating revenues or growing and making an economic as well as social contribution over the long term.

       

Reference:

J. Gregory Dees1 (October 31, 1998). The Meaning of “Social Entrepreneurship”

 Stanford University, America.

Y DANIEL J. ISENBERG (December 2008). The Global Entrepreneur.

 Best Practice, USA.

Bosma, N.S.; Levie, J. (2009). Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2009 Executive Report.

Global Entrepreneurship Research Association, USA. 

Paul C. Light (2006). Reshaping Social Entrepreneurship, Stanford Social Innovation Review, America.