Social entrepreneurship activity is very low in South Africa, especially among the youth. It is argued that favourable attitudes toward social entrepreneurship are determinants of successful social entrepreneurship that could contribute to sustainable socio-economic development amongst the youth who are still grappling with the “triple challenge” of unemployment, poverty and inequality. The primary objective of this study was to describe the attitudes of urban youth toward social entrepreneurship and to identify the constraints that the youth perceive as barriers to engaging in social entrepreneurship. The data of this study was from a survey conducted in Diepsloot, North of Johannesburg involving 153 young people. Data was collected using two self-rating questionnaires. The Social Entrepreneurial Intent Scale (SEIS), adopted from Thompson (2009), was used to measure social entrepreneurial intentions, while the Constraint scale developed by Fatoki and Chindoga (2011) was used to identify constraints. The study produced three main findings. Firstly, the majority of respondents had positive attitudes towards starting and engaging in social enterprises. Secondly, the research identified three main constraints that discourage the youth from starting or engaging in social enterprise, namely “lack of access to finance”, “lack of savings to start”, and “weak economic environment”. Thirdly, the research also identified an overall limitation to social entrepreneurship, namely; lack of support. Recommendations to reduce constraints and support social entrepreneurship were suggested.

Com a ambiciosa missão de resolver problemas sociais, os negócios de impacto estão crescendo cada vez mais no Brasil e no mundo. A fim de responder como o investidor de impacto toma decisões sobre sua carteira, o presente estudo tem como objetivo investigar a forma como o investidor lida com o fator de impacto, além da relação risco e retorno, tradicionalmente utilizada pelos investidores. Utilizou-se metodologia de natureza exploratória qualitativa, sendo os resultados estudados por meio da análise de conteúdo. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas realizadas junto a dez organizações da área de investimento de impacto que juntas representam cerca de 75% dos ativos sob gestão no Brasil. Para analisar os dados, foram identificadas as escalas, com intervalo de 1 até 5, atribuídas para cada um dos fatores que compõem um investimento de impacto: risco, retorno e impacto. Para retorno financeiro, foi encontrado que os investidores esperam retornos próximos ou acima das taxas de mercado, da mesma maneira que o exigido por investidores tradicionais, no intervalo da escala aplicada, obteve-se 3,778 para o fator analisado retorno financeiro. Com relação ao risco, por meio desta pesquisa encontrou-se que, ao investimento de impacto, agrega-se o risco de não ocorrer impacto, além do risco financeiro já conhecido tradicionalmente. Os investidores de impacto apresentam mais maturidade na escala para risco financeiro, apresentando um resultado na média de 3,667 e ao mesmo tempo para o risco de não atingir impacto ao grau de 3,778. Por serem os fatores risco e retorno uma relação já tradicionalmente conhecida pelos investidores, notou-se que as organizações tendem a apresentar maior maturidade no entendimento destas. Para o mais novo fator impacto, calculou-se 3,000 na média. Diante disto, apurou-se uma oportunidade de evolução no tema por parte dos investidores, com um caminho a ser percorrido em busca da maturidade no tema, principalmente no que tange à preocupação com a blindagem da missão, seja na formalização deste compromisso em documentos ou na implementação de mecanismos de remuneração por atingimento de objetivos de impacto. Os resultados obtidos elucidam importantes questões da área de investimentos de impacto demonstrando que há muita oportunidade de desenvolver o tema no Brasil, em busca da maturidade de alinhamento com práticas adotadas por outros países. / With an audacious mission to get resources to businesses that solve social problems, impact investors are growing in Brazil and in the world. To answer that question of how impact investors decide over their investment portfolio, considering the factor risk, return and impact, this study aims to investigate impact investor and the way he handles with impact factor beyond risk and return relationship, traditionally know by the market. It was used a qualitative exploratory methodology which results were studied through content analysis to reach the proposed objectives. Through semi-structured interviews close to 10 organization of impact investment ecosystem, with a sample that represents at least 75% of assets under management in Brazil, were identified scales (built from 1 to 5) assigned to each decision factor that compound an impact investment: risk, return and impact. For return, the main aspect identified is about expected financial return; adjust to market taxes, as much as expected in traditional investments. It was obtained an average result of 3,778 in financial return, in a scale from 1 to 5. In relation to risk, in impact investments must be observe also the risk of not achieving the expected impact, in addition to financial risk already know in traditional financial market. Impact investors are willing to take risks in this type of investments, since the financial risk factor average obtained in the interviews were 3,667 at the same time they feel prepare to face risk of not achieving desired impact, represented by an average of 3,778. It were noticed that factors risk and return achieved higher averages, a justification for that can be this relationship be traditionally know by investor so they tend to present a greater knowledge on these subjects. To the recent factor impact, it was find out an evolution in the theme, with a long way to go in search of maturity, mainly to influence mission lock, in formalization of this commitment in documents or in the implementation of mechanism to remunerate by impact achievement of objectives. For impact, it was calculated an average of 3,000 in a scale of 1 to 5. The obtained results clarify important questions of impact investment ecosystem demonstrating that there is many opportunities to develop the theme in Brazil, in a search of maturity with adopted practices in other countries.

Thesis advisor: Eve Spangler / Social enterprises are nonprofit, for-profit or hybrid organizations that use business methods to create social change (Dees 2007; Light 2005; Martin and Osberg 2007; Neck, Brush, and Allen 2009;). If it succeeds, the social enterprise model could prove to be a viable pathway to greater social justice in an era of decreasing funding for government services and nonprofits (Emerson and Twersky 1996; Harding 2004; Murphy and Coombs 2009; Wilson 2008). However, skeptics worry that the perils of privatization, bottom-line thinking, and deceptive marketing potentially embodied by the “business methods” that social enterprises employ may undermine the potential of this new approach to solving social problems (Bateman and Chang 2012; Farmer 2009; Nega and Schneider 2014). The three articles that make up this dissertation examined the ways social entrepreneurs perceived and managed tensions between social mission and market institutional logics. Their ability (or lack thereof) to reconcile these contradictory imperatives could contribute to whether social enterprises ultimately succeed or fail as vehicles for positive social change. Social Entrepreneurs at the Crossroads: Four Approaches to Responding to Dual Institutional Logics suggests that the widely accepted characterization of social entrepreneurs as compassionate individuals motivated to address intractable social problems innovatively (Alvord, Brown and Letts 2004; Lehner and Germak 2014; Mair and Marti 2006; Miller, Grimes, McMullen and Vogus 2012) is simplistic. From in-depth interviews with twenty (inter)nationally recognized social entrepreneurs I derived four distinct categories: Disillusioned Dreamers, Social Capitalists, Do-Somethings, and Bridgebuilders. Half of these respondents did not perceive tensions between logics; another quarter did not wrestle with the tensions they perceived. Only the Bridgebuilders perceived tensions and then persisted in focusing on both logics and sets of actors to harness synergies. As a result, only Bridgebuilders offer a truly hybrid model for social mission work within the current economic context, whereas the others hew toward a single dominant logic. One Size Does Not Fit All: Legal Form and US WISEs focuses on work integration social enterprises (WISEs), organizations that address the chronic unemployment of marginalized populations. The data demonstrated that contrary to the expectation that WISEs would exemplify “contested” organizations (Besharov and Smith 2014), eight of the ten WISEs studied did not experience significant conflict between social mission and market logics. Rather, WISEs generally had one logic that dominated their operations: a market logic in for-profit WISEs and a social mission logic in nonprofit WISEs. Workers’ employability emerged as an important variable, with for-profit WISEs creating jobs for more employable populations and nonprofits offering job training and “wraparound” services to harder-to-employ populations. Only two WISEs experienced substantial tensions, when social entrepreneurs attempted to prioritize a job training/services mission within a for-profit form. This data demonstrates that a job creation approach aligns best with a for-profit WISE form and a job training/services approach to a nonprofit WISE form. However, neither form has succeeded in creating a system-transforming model that successfully combines revenue generation with a robust training/services/job creation mission. This suggests that breaking traditional nonprofit and for-profit patterns to deliver substantial market and social mission outcomes within a single organization is a significant challenge. Stakeholder Resistance to Social Enterprise Hybridity examines how social entrepreneurs perceive the support of key stakeholders in their attempts to balance competing social mission and market logics. Despite evidence of social interest in ethical capitalism, this data suggests that well-resourced stakeholders push social entrepreneurs to prioritize price, revenue generation, and measurement. This includes both traditional organizational stakeholders and hybrid-specific stakeholders. Customers and clients demanded low prices and high value. Donors demanded quantification and impact measurement. Investors expected market rate financial return. Finally, social enterprise gatekeeper organizations (fellowship granting bodies) were focused on the market logic characteristics of sustainability, scale, and entrepreneurial ability, pushing the field toward market logic modes of operating. Social entrepreneurs generally responded by acquiescing to pressure to emphasize a market logic in their interactions. Counter to current literature that suggests social entrepreneurs should problem-solve to avoid single logic dominance, social entrepreneurs generally allowed price, business strategy, competition and measurement to shape their interactions with stakeholders. Given the importance of stakeholder buy-in for organizational legitimacy, the field of social enterprise needs to find a way to create and capture stakeholder support for dual logics rather than depending on individual social entrepreneurs to withstand the push toward marketization. Overall, despite persistent efforts at creative solutions to social problems by some individuals, the research shows a strong undertow for social enterprises to adopt business logics and business models. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

This dissertation focuses on three different organizational approaches to introducing change in the Global South. In so doing, it explores how organizations can design and structure 'solutions' for deep-rooted social problems and support marginalized groups who lack voice to speak for themselves. Theoretically, I draw on institutional theory and social movement theory, and it is to these perspectives that my research seeks to contribute. Empirically, my work focuses on Tanzania, Indonesia and Nigeria. Studying how and why three different types of organizational forms - including a social enterprise (Paper 1), a quasi-social movement (Paper 2) and a social movement (Paper 3) - succeeded or failed in their attempts to introduce change in the Global South provides an intriguing opportunity to build new theoretical insights and to shed light on strategic and organizational processes about which relatively little is known.

Com a ambiciosa missão de resolver problemas sociais, os negócios de impacto estão crescendo cada vez mais no Brasil e no mundo. A fim de responder como o investidor de impacto toma decisões sobre sua carteira, o presente estudo tem como objetivo investigar a forma como o investidor lida com o fator de impacto, além da relação risco e retorno, tradicionalmente utilizada pelos investidores. Utilizou-se metodologia de natureza exploratória qualitativa, sendo os resultados estudados por meio da análise de conteúdo. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas realizadas junto a dez organizações da área de investimento de impacto que juntas representam cerca de 75% dos ativos sob gestão no Brasil. Para analisar os dados, foram identificadas as escalas, com intervalo de 1 até 5, atribuídas para cada um dos fatores que compõem um investimento de impacto: risco, retorno e impacto. Para retorno financeiro, foi encontrado que os investidores esperam retornos próximos ou acima das taxas de mercado, da mesma maneira que o exigido por investidores tradicionais, no intervalo da escala aplicada, obteve-se 3,778 para o fator analisado retorno financeiro. Com relação ao risco, por meio desta pesquisa encontrou-se que, ao investimento de impacto, agrega-se o risco de não ocorrer impacto, além do risco financeiro já conhecido tradicionalmente. Os investidores de impacto apresentam mais maturidade na escala para risco financeiro, apresentando um resultado na média de 3,667 e ao mesmo tempo para o risco de não atingir impacto ao grau de 3,778. Por serem os fatores risco e retorno uma relação já tradicionalmente conhecida pelos investidores, notou-se que as organizações tendem a apresentar maior maturidade no entendimento destas. Para o mais novo fator impacto, calculou-se 3,000 na média. Diante disto, apurou-se uma oportunidade de evolução no tema por parte dos investidores, com um caminho a ser percorrido em busca da maturidade no tema, principalmente no que tange à preocupação com a blindagem da missão, seja na formalização deste compromisso em documentos ou na implementação de mecanismos de remuneração por atingimento de objetivos de impacto. Os resultados obtidos elucidam importantes questões da área de investimentos de impacto demonstrando que há muita oportunidade de desenvolver o tema no Brasil, em busca da maturidade de alinhamento com práticas adotadas por outros países. / With an audacious mission to get resources to businesses that solve social problems, impact investors are growing in Brazil and in the world. To answer that question of how impact investors decide over their investment portfolio, considering the factor risk, return and impact, this study aims to investigate impact investor and the way he handles with impact factor beyond risk and return relationship, traditionally know by the market. It was used a qualitative exploratory methodology which results were studied through content analysis to reach the proposed objectives. Through semi-structured interviews close to 10 organization of impact investment ecosystem, with a sample that represents at least 75% of assets under management in Brazil, were identified scales (built from 1 to 5) assigned to each decision factor that compound an impact investment: risk, return and impact. For return, the main aspect identified is about expected financial return; adjust to market taxes, as much as expected in traditional investments. It was obtained an average result of 3,778 in financial return, in a scale from 1 to 5. In relation to risk, in impact investments must be observe also the risk of not achieving the expected impact, in addition to financial risk already know in traditional financial market. Impact investors are willing to take risks in this type of investments, since the financial risk factor average obtained in the interviews were 3,667 at the same time they feel prepare to face risk of not achieving desired impact, represented by an average of 3,778. It were noticed that factors risk and return achieved higher averages, a justification for that can be this relationship be traditionally know by investor so they tend to present a greater knowledge on these subjects. To the recent factor impact, it was find out an evolution in the theme, with a long way to go in search of maturity, mainly to influence mission lock, in formalization of this commitment in documents or in the implementation of mechanism to remunerate by impact achievement of objectives. For impact, it was calculated an average of 3,000 in a scale of 1 to 5. The obtained results clarify important questions of impact investment ecosystem demonstrating that there is many opportunities to develop the theme in Brazil, in a search of maturity with adopted practices in other countries.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / Social entrepreneurship has spread worldwide, as social entrepreneurs seek the solutions to developmental challenges. This is especially true in Nairobi, Kenya, as social entrepreneurship has established itself in the labor market. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the impact of social enterprises in African countries, especially with regards to the labor market. It is for this reason that this study aims at highlighting the impact of social enterprises on the labor market in Nairobi, Kenya. It also provides an outline of the labor market structure in Nairobi. The study employed a mixed methods approach, using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, collected concurrently as part of a concurrent triangulation design. Five social enterprises located in Nairobi were involved in the study, and were chosen through snowball sampling. These social enterprises offered direct employment, training programmes or support for beneficiaries to start their own businesses. The research instruments used in this study were as follows; 10 interviews (5 interviews with beneficiaries and 5 with social entrepreneurs), 50 questionnaires distributed to beneficiaries through random sampling, field work observations and a literature review. The results of this study were that social enterprises in Nairobi have a significant impact on the livelihoods of beneficiaries by directly employing them, providing necessary skills for later employment or supporting them to start their own businesses. However, these increases in income are often either inadequate or inconsistent as most beneficiaries are forced to diversify their livelihoods. Social enterprises also fail to reduce the gender wage gap among their beneficiaries. Social enterprises also increase market access among their beneficiaries by providing them with advice and training, as well as, direct access to customers. In the same vein, they increase the level of training of beneficiaries. This helps beneficiaries improve their relations with customers, produce high quality goods, hone their skills, gain employment, gain experience, build a repertoire, earn profits and start businesses. The subject of training also affects the income levels of beneficiaries, as many of those who study entrepreneurship, quality training and customer service earn above minimum wage. Additionally, social enterprises impact formalization among their beneficiaries. However, once beneficiaries leave, they often return to the informal sector. Therefore, the impact on formalization is only significant while beneficiaries are participating in the social enterprise. Social enterprises also influence the attitudes of beneficiaries, creating a more positive outlook on their contribution to the labor market. Likewise, social enterprises shift perceptions about formal qualifications as beneficiaries feel that they can still secure employment by showing their level of experience or body of work. Lastly, social enterprises have limited impact on fair trade ideals as majority of the social enterprises in Nairobi are not knowledgeable about fair trade, and therefore do not aim towards it. For those that do adopt the fair trade model, it is unclear if they have influenced their beneficiaries to actually believe in these ideals or just simply require them to comply with fair trade regulations. In conclusion, the study determined that social enterprises do have significant impact in the labor market structure, increasing livelihoods, improving educational qualifications, and influencing formalization and attitudinal structures in Nairobi. However, social enterprises must also focus on improving their impact with regards to strengthening livelihoods, especially among their female beneficiaries and creating permanent change in formalization among their beneficiaries even after they leave the enterprise. Likewise, social enterprises should consider the importance of fair trade ideals in their daily practice, and the value of imparting these to their beneficiaries.

The purpose of this research was to find out what Social Value is, how it is created and in what way it is related to Social Entrepreneurship. The study has been done at a time when the concept of Social Entrepreneurship has come to the forefront at the outset of the 21st Century; in an advent of rapid change and worldwide turmoil; yet an academic understanding of Social Entrepreneurship has been lacking. A Western-style capitalist economy has a highly functioning 'for-profit' and government regulatory system, with civil society which carries an obligation to have regard for those who 'have not.' The goodness-of-fit between all three sectors determines the harmony, order and satisfaction of a given population. We now know that social Value is created when communities are impacted with outcomes from the inspiration and perspiration of Social Entrepreneurs and Support teams who are committed to alleviating human need. Social Entrepreneurs and their teams have a different outlook on life. They live with a lack of financial security, are time-poor, persevering, and resourceful; and they manage risk even as need is being resourced. Based upon a robust literature of Entrepreneurship and Values theories for meaning, data collection allowed for ten social ventures to be casestudied. These lead to further enquiry into seven peak bodies designed to be resourcing agencies. This research is important because a model has been developed which effectively enables social ventures to service their mission, and to stay viable. As a result of this, a way forward has been identified where the impact from social entrepreneuring becomes a core determinant of created Social Value. The contribution of this research has been to lay a foundation in grassroots social entrepreneurship which is supported by a Literature which others following can add to or further define. There is now something comprehensive drawn from the experiences of many in the field uipon which to base further enquiry and future investigation. Suggestions have also been made which need reinforcing at the Public Policy level; others in the Social Policy sector will want to know the way to reengineer a way out of the 'gap' which exists in the Capitalist System.

<p>Today the world faces a lot of societal challenges in the economical, social and environmental spheres that needs to be overcome. Global warming, poverty and increasing economic inequality are only some of these challenges. The public debate has been focused on finding solutions to them and one of these has been addressed as social entrepreneurship. This phenomenon is about the era of the new type of entrepreneurs – social entrepreneurs – that recognize these challenges as opportunities that can be exploited in a both profitable and sustainable manner. Social entrepreneurship has in this way emerged as an interesting phenomenon and a new area in the entrepreneurship research.</p><p> </p><p>This study examines the phenomenon of social entrepreneurship by scrutinizing the concept SIFE - Students In Free Enterprise. SIFE is a non-profit organization that claims to be actively engaged in working with social entrepreneurship. The general purpose of this study is to bring a deeper understanding of the social entrepreneurship phenomenon, by describing the particular purpose, the case of SIFE Umeå University as a social entrepreneurship model. Our study is a qualitative case study using semi-structured interviews. Six respondents have been interviewed from different levels of the organization - SIFE Umeå University - in order to reflect the entire organization. We have used a deductive approach by establishing a theoretical framework that guided the interviews and has been used in the analysis of the empirical data.</p><p> </p><p>The main conclusions in this study show that SIFE Umeå University’s work with social entrepreneurship is mainly about socioeconomic and personal development. Another conclusion is that cooperation with partners from different sectors of the society is an important fundament in their work with social entrepreneurship. Furthermore, SIFE Umeå University can be considered as hybrid of a voluntary organization and social enterprise since it includes similarities of both organizational forms. Moreover, the study shows that entrepreneurial skills play an important role in SIFE Umeå University’s work with social entrepreneurship. Finally, we can from this study draw the conclusion that SIFE Umeå University’s work with social entrepreneurship can be divided in six steps: Target group, Job/life training, Commercial enterprises, Personal development, Socioeconomic development, Partnership Network.</p>

In the past, most entrepreneurship researches were constructed on static, unilateral, single-level perspectives. They were used to adopt logic positivism as methodology so that it¡¦s hard to see the dynamic process of entrepreneurship. In this paper, I avoid following such paradigm and seek a novel solution in entrepreneurship study. I adopt complexity adaptive system (CAS) as a new theoretical perspective and narrative inquiry as a fresh methodology. In this way, entrepreneurship is viewed as a dynamic process, and all the accounts are arranged in four entrepreneurship stories: ¡§The first step : far from equilibrium¡¨, ¡§Strange attractors : vision and core capability¡¨, ¡§Dawn of the chaos : self-organization¡¨, and ¡§The pattern accompanied innovation: emergence¡¨. Through the lens of CAS, this research expresses that successful entrepreneurship is simply not the result of perfect planning in advance or opportunity identification. In fact, entrepreneurs try to enact self-organizing through interactions with the outsiders and finally generate innovation. Organizations should view chaos as normal condition thus they can keep evolution to survive. With these metaphors, the research attempt to inspire entrepreneurs and make their entrepreneurship come off.

Today the world faces a lot of societal challenges in the economical, social and environmental spheres that needs to be overcome. Global warming, poverty and increasing economic inequality are only some of these challenges. The public debate has been focused on finding solutions to them and one of these has been addressed as social entrepreneurship. This phenomenon is about the era of the new type of entrepreneurs – social entrepreneurs – that recognize these challenges as opportunities that can be exploited in a both profitable and sustainable manner. Social entrepreneurship has in this way emerged as an interesting phenomenon and a new area in the entrepreneurship research.   This study examines the phenomenon of social entrepreneurship by scrutinizing the concept SIFE - Students In Free Enterprise. SIFE is a non-profit organization that claims to be actively engaged in working with social entrepreneurship. The general purpose of this study is to bring a deeper understanding of the social entrepreneurship phenomenon, by describing the particular purpose, the case of SIFE Umeå University as a social entrepreneurship model. Our study is a qualitative case study using semi-structured interviews. Six respondents have been interviewed from different levels of the organization - SIFE Umeå University - in order to reflect the entire organization. We have used a deductive approach by establishing a theoretical framework that guided the interviews and has been used in the analysis of the empirical data.   The main conclusions in this study show that SIFE Umeå University’s work with social entrepreneurship is mainly about socioeconomic and personal development. Another conclusion is that cooperation with partners from different sectors of the society is an important fundament in their work with social entrepreneurship. Furthermore, SIFE Umeå University can be considered as hybrid of a voluntary organization and social enterprise since it includes similarities of both organizational forms. Moreover, the study shows that entrepreneurial skills play an important role in SIFE Umeå University’s work with social entrepreneurship. Finally, we can from this study draw the conclusion that SIFE Umeå University’s work with social entrepreneurship can be divided in six steps: Target group, Job/life training, Commercial enterprises, Personal development, Socioeconomic development, Partnership Network.