Migrant women stepping into ethnic catering; homeless men employed to take care of bees producing honey for sale; young people on the edge getting microcredit funding to start social businesses; or former criminals joining forces to create social and economic structures for an honest lifestyle. These initiatives capture the transformative power of social enterprise and might indicate how social enterprises have the potential to make a difference for people and societies. The Nordic countries represent an interesting case. Social enterprises and co-operatives played a significant part in paving the way for the Nordic solicaristic welfare state. As the welfare state grew, civil society organizations and co-operatives lost ground, to a certain extent. But in recent decades, the welfare state has been restructured and, simultaneously, the concepts social entrepreneurship and social enterprises have gained attention. The Nordic context, with extensive public welfare structures and a high degree of citizens’ participation in public affairs, might affect the emergence of social entrepreneurship and social enterprises.

This book introduces students and others to the discipline of social entrepreneurship, which encourages the creation of enterprises that are socially inclusive yet economically and ecologically sustainable. In each chapter there is a mix of case studies about internationally well-known enterprises and other more local enterprises which are totally new. The book leads its readers to understand and appreciate entrepreneurial issues and to engage themselves in community-based activities. Social Enterprise helps readers to: analyze and articulate the blend of social, environmental and economic values which is present in all kinds of enterprise understand the issues involved in translating good intentions with multiple goals into focused, sustainable and practical actions propose alternative social enterprise management strategies based on their own analysis of case studies of entrepreneurial endeavors that are perceived to be ‘social’ The authors take a pragmatic yet critical approach, and this book should be core or recommended reading for Social Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise modules at advanced undergraduate, postgraduate and MBA levels.

Social enterprises of all forms drive inclusive growth by creating social and economic networks, and a stable ecosystem, that enable societies to grow and prosper. This book presents a collection of ten case studies that demonstrate the important role played by social enterprises in driving inclusive growth in Asia’s economies. Unlike the traditional models, such as NGOs and charities, that are donor dependent for funding, a social enterprise is a hybrid business model that includes both social mission and revenue generation goals to ensure sustainability and self-reliance. The ten case studies in the book provide a ringside view of how social enterprises operate and evolve to create, sustain, and scale up their social impact. Readers will gain a practical understanding of how social entrepreneurs struggle to maintain a balance between their two seemingly contradictory goals of creating social value and generating economic returns. The book carries the readers on the journey of each of these ten social enterprises, offering unique and valuable insights into the motivations, tribulations, successes, and even failures of these organisations—critical for continued learning, contribution, and innovation in the domain. The book is appropriate for all readers interested in the role social entrepreneurship plays in stimulating economic growth in Asia, including organisations, government, and universities, as well as individuals.

In development circles, there is now widespread consensus that social entrepreneurs represent a far better mechanism to respond to needs than we have ever had before--a decentralized and emergent force that remains our best hope for solutions that can keep pace with our problems and create a more peaceful world.David Bornstein's previous book on social entrepreneurship, How to Change the World, was hailed by Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times as "a bible in the field" and published in more than twenty countries. Now, Bornstein shifts the focus from the profiles of successful social innovators in that book--and teams with Susan Davis, a founding board member of the Grameen Foundation--to offer the first general overview of social entrepreneurship. In a Q & A format allowing readers to go directly to the information they need, the authors map out social entrepreneurship in its broadest terms as well as in its particulars.Bornstein and Davis explain what social entrepreneurs are, how their organizations function, and what challenges they face. The book will give readers an understanding of what differentiates social entrepreneurship from standard business ventures and how it differs from traditional grant-based non-profit work. Unlike the typical top-down, model-based approach to solving problems employed by the World Bank and other large institutions, social entrepreneurs work through a process of iterative learning--learning by doing--working with communities to find unique, local solutions to unique, local problems. Most importantly, the book shows readers exactly how they can get involved.Anyone inspired by Barack Obama's call to service and who wants to learn more about the essential features and enormous promise of this new method of social change, Social Entrepreneurship is the ideal first place to look.

This compilation offers students a comprehensive overview of the field of social entrepreneurship. Leading European researchers and lecturers such as Ann-Kristin Achleitner, Markus Beckmann, Heather Cameron, Pascal Dey, Andreas Heinecke, Benjamin Huybrechts, Alex Nicholls, Johanna Mair, Susan Müller and Chris Steyaert have contributed to this textbook.

This book argues that embeddedness and community participation bring unique propositions for social entrepreneurship to foster social inclusion. It uncovers the role of local knowledge and grassroots level innovations to create necessary environment for the positive social change to roll. Social enterprises have proven to reduce drudgery of poor and excluded by offering creative and innovative solutions for long standing social problems. The grassroots level creative problem solving mechanisms they initiate travel through a variety of local dynamics and cultural contexts. However, social innovations quite often do not achieve their intended results, especially when they fail to understand the local contexts and embed themselves in such dynamism. In this background, the book attempts to understand and analyse the 'connect' between the social innovations and local dynamism. It argues that the community-driven innovation management which is based on local knowledge inspires the social entrepreneurial process and builds capacities and infrastructure to foster social inclusion. Each chapter in this book offers development scholars rich narration about how social problems have been approached, addressed, and altered through rich insights from communities and the social entrepreneurial teams.

Social Entrepreneurship as a Catalyst for Social Change contains twenty chapters on the impact of social entrepreneurial ventures within a variety of cultural and national contexts. From Brazil to Croatia, from Thailand to Greenland, this book is rare in that it provides a rich landscape in which to imagine additional efforts to bring about positive social change. The case studies cover a broad range of topics with one common theme—how can we learn from what others are doing in the emerging field of social entrepreneurship? The various cases will inspire budding entrepreneurs to new heights of awareness to support the alleviation of poverty in many contexts. Part Two, Lessons from the Field: How Social Entrepreneurial Companies are Succeeding, discusses the similarities and differences that social entrepreneurial ventures and other businesses must face to be successful. Other topics covered include Entrepreneur Bootcamp for Veterans, microfinance, social entrepreneurship education, and development of a culture of social entrepreneurship. Part Three, Going from Local to Global, explores the challenges of a social enterprise as it transitions from a national venture to an international one. The relationship between social entrepreneurship and local business development in places such as Sicily is discussed through case studies. A stage theory of social venture internationalization is put forth. Research connecting social media and social entrepreneurship is used to illustrate the importance of social networks in creating positive social change. Part four, Challenges in Social Entrepreneurship, explores the challenges that social entrepreneurial ventures face. Ethics of intellectual property rights in social enterprises is a focal topic in this section. Social franchising as an approach to social entrepreneurship is illustrated.