Lect.univ.dr.

Simona Goia
• To identify which are the main characteristics of Social
Entrepreneurship
p p and which are the major
j differences
between social and classical entrepreneurship

• To present various theories and schools of thought in the

field of Social Entrepreneurship

• To outline how the field of Social Entrepreneurship evolved

over the
th years

• To be able to discuss about the role played by Social

Entrepreneurship within the today’s
today s society and economical
environment
- The social mission- clearly stated and plays a
major role
- Creation of social wealth (social added value) –
main objective and core business of social
entrepreneurs
- Profit- has a secondary role;
- just a means to an end (the
end=achievement and maximization of social
output)
- it is mostly reinvested in the social
enterprise with the purpose of maximizing the
social impact/
p / value
- Stakeholders and their needs and whishes
represent the central point of the business, not the
shareholders and their financial interests;
- To apply the subsidiarity principle
- Active involvement of the target group in the
resolution of the problem they are affected by
- Th principle“Help
The i i l “H l people l to hhelp
l themselves”
h l ”
- (Capacity building)
- Long-lasting
Long lasting and
sustainable solution
 Hybrid- character (organisation);
 Embedding of non-profit and for-profit
elements;
 different types of resources:
- Own economic activity (earned income),
public funding
funding, donations,
donations sponsoring etc.etc
- volunteers, interns, paid employees, support
staff
staff, external specialists/freelancers (fees)
etc.
Social Entrepreneurship # CSR (Corporate
Social Responsibility)
Core business # Part of the business strategy

http://www.responsabilitatesociala.ro/studii-de-caz-csr/gdf-suez-energy-romania/totul-incepe-acasa.html

http://prinzessinnengarten.net/musik/
Similarities
- Capacity of taking risks,
risks vision,
vision creativity,
creativity
innovation etc.
Differences
- Underlying motivation of the entrepreneur
entrepreneur, main
goals
Social Entrepreneurs: they want to solve a social
problem, often have a personal motivation,
values principles,
values, principles see business potential where
others see just problems and obstacles
Common fields of activity: poverty, healthcare
system
system, education
education, culture
culture, human rights,
rights
migration, equal opportunities, environment etc.
(areas which do not promise large profit
margins)
-The economical developments in the last years (e.g. considering also the
global crisis and the debates about its causes and consequences) pointed
out the idea, that social aspects should play a much more important role in
enterprises when establishing goals
goals, designing key activities and KPIs etc
etc.
- enterprises’ responsibility to create social wealth and prosperity;
-many classical business models lead to creation of material wealth, but fail
at improving the quality of life;
-Paradigm shift??? A new form of capitalism???

-FFailure
il off national
ti l states
t t andd public
bli iinstitutions
tit ti tto solve
l and
d
efficiently address (burning) social issues → involvement/ participation of
private actors/partners;
Need for Social Innovation
- Failure of the public system to satisfy even basic needs of the
population in some cases.
- Happy Planet Index - the extent to which countries deliver long, happy, sustainable lives for the
people that live in them

http://www.happyplanetindex.org/
http://www happyplanetindex org/

- World Happiness Report

(http://worldhappiness.report/)

The geography of happiness

- At the beginning of the 90s emerged the concept in Europe;
- 2006- Nobel Prize Award for Muhammad Yunus (microcredit theory) → triggers a
revolution in this field;
- In the academic field:
- Specialized academic journals were established and dedicated events and
conferences were organized;
- Explosion of scientific research in this field;
- Establishment in top universities (such as Stanford University, Harvard
Business School, Freie Universität Berlin, Cambridge University, Oxford
University) of departments, research centers and study programmes in this area→
Professionalizing of the field;
- In the economy:
- various professional networks were established (e.g. SEKN, EMES, Skoll
Center for Social Entrepreneurship);
- programmes and projects of companies or foundations,
foundations which foster Social
Entrepreneurship were developed (e.g. Deutsche Bank, OMV Petrom, Ashoka,
Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship etc.);
- Business Incubators for social enterprises (e.g. Social Impact Lab);
- specific legislation and aid programmes at national and European level were
developed and implemented;
- New field, still in a theory building phase, no unitary definition of
Social Entrepreneurship

- 3 important Schools of Though

- The School of the “earned income”– emphasizes the business
character of social enterprises;
p ;
- widely spread in Great Britain;
- the idea of economic sustainability and independence
is very important;
- The School of “social
social innovation”
innovation – systemic character of innovation;
- EMES School of thought- criteria for the classification of social
enterprises;
- In-depth analysis of the external
environment;

- Discussions with community

y leaders;;

- Discussions with actors who are already

actively
ti l engaged d iin th
the social
i l fi
field
ld ((e.g.
members of foundations, NGOs, social
entrepreneurs
p who have already y set up pa
social business etc.)
Theory of antagonistic assets
4 strategies to identify opportunities which
might turn antagonistic assets into
competitive advantages:
- Identification of hidden complementarities;
- Development of new complementarities;
- Elimination of the need for
complementarities;
- Creation of demand for antagonistic assets