Social entrepreneurship, defined as entrepreneurial activities with a clear mission to create social value, is gaining increased influence and importance in the economy. Through combining a for-profit mindset with social objectives, social enterprises provide groundbreaking solutions to societal needs. The global presence and impact of social enterprises raise the importance of internationalization of this specific kind of enterprise. This is an area of inquiry that has gained limited attention in academia and empirical studies have been few. The purpose of the study is to investigate motives for internationalization of social enterprises and how these enterprises establish in foreign markets. The study consists of an empirical investigation based on a survey sample of 65 respondents and one background interview. The result shows that the main motive for internationalization of social enterprises is to alleviate social problems. Social enterprises have a distinct international character, show patterns of early and rapid internationalization and can be characterized as international new ventures with a distinct social mission. Networks affect motives as well as choice of entry mode of social enterprises. The most common mode of entry of social enterprises is to establish alliances or partnerships with foreign actors and the main target market is less developed economies.

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There were several attempts to conceptualize the social value creation process. Previous literature does not commonly consider a non-material approach, using mainly quantitative practices which are not in line with the characteristics of social value. This thesis contributes to the current social value creation studies in two ways. The first centers the subjectivity of social value as a phenomenon embedded in space and time which calls for distinctive ways of understanding its creation. Here the research approaches the hedonic perspective of well-being as a processual phenomenon which makes possible to explore the way social value is created from beneficiaries’ perspective. The second contribution is an empirical study within a voluntary program in order to explore how the beneficiaries’ subjective well-being unfolds over time. In this setting, where impoverished people deal with satisfying their basic needs, a process approach reveals the emotionally loaded context and the complexity of the social value creation. Thereby, the main emphasis of this thesis is to put on a deeper theoretical discussion of the concept of social value creation. The result of this research is an understanding of social value creation as a subjective construct centered on how the process uncovers unique moments experienced by people.

Organizations operate in a dynamic environment in which they are faced with an ongoing dilemma of maximizing profit and meeting the demand from society to take social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained an increase in interest with its intended aim of corporations taking responsibility for how the business affects the society within an economic, environmental and social perspective. However, its intended aim is being hindered by the idea of a trade-off between profit and social responsibility in CSR theory and practice. We suggest that social entrepreneurship can have an impact on CSR in moving beyond these trade-offs and can furthermore bridge the gap between business’ and society’s demands. Thereby, our thesis has the aim to investigate how CSR research can move beyond the presumed trade-offs through the impact of social entrepreneurship theory. For this purpose, we have chosen a conceptual research approach in order to build a conceptual model that can serve as a theoretical contribution and an inspiration for further practical use. The model suggests that components of social entrepreneurship can be linked to strategic CSR dimensions and, therefore, impact the outcome by creating both economic and social value.

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Titel: Gemensamt värdeskapande i praktiken Författare: Lydia Frykman och Johanna Wennerström Handledare: Rasmus Nyqvist Bakgrund: I dagens samhälle är utmaningarna inom hållbarhet högst väsentliga, till följd av att företag inte tar sitt fulla ekonomiska, ekologiska och sociala samhällsansvar. CSV har som ett resultat av detta blivit alltmer uppmärksammat då konceptet belyser företagens roll i att driva hållbarhetsutvecklingen framåt. Det saknas däremot empiriskt underlag som visar hur företag kan arbeta för att uppnå gemensamt värdeskapande i praktiken, samt hur den komplexa avvägningen mellan företagsnytta och samhällsnytta ska gå till. Därför undersöker denna kvalitativa studie värdeskapande aktiviteter samt avvägningen mellan företagsnytta och samhällsnytta. Syfte: Syftet är att bidra med en ökad förståelse för de aktiviteter som skapar gemensamt värde, vad som krävs för att företagen ska motiveras till dessa aktiviteter samt för hur företag hanterar den komplexa avvägningen mellan företagsnytta och samhällsnytta. Metod: Denna kvalitativa studie utgår från ett hermeneutiskt perspektiv, har en tvärsnittsdesign och en abduktiv forskningsansats. Det empiriska underlaget samlades in genom två studier, som bestod av semistrukturerade intervjuer med företagsrespondenter och experter inom ämnet. Slutsats: Resultaten från studien tyder på att företagen utövar CSV-aktiviteter i olika utsträckning, men att en stor utmaning är att identifiera när det är ekonomiskt rationellt att uppnå ett gemensamt värde. Vidare har studien klargjort att det finns flera drivkrafter till att uppnå gemensamt värdeskapande. Däremot behöver dagens lagkrav ytterligare förtydligande och förbättring, för att företagen ska agera mer osjälviskt. Studien lyfter avvägningen mellan företagsnytta och samhällsnytta och det framgår att det är denna del som är mest väsentlig i diskussionen om hur företag kan uppnå gemensamt värdeskapande. Slutligen har företagens utvecklingsriktning visat att det har adderats en intention om att göra gott för samhället, men faktumet att den ekonomiska faktorn väger tyngst kvarstår. / Title: Creating Shared Value In PracticeAuthors: Lydia Frykman and Johanna Wennerström Supervisor: Rasmus Nyqvist Background: In today's society, the challenges connected to sustainability are highly significant, as a result of companies not fully taking their economic, environmental and social responsibility. As a result, CSV has received increased attention as the concept highlights companies’ role in driving sustainability forward. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence showing how companies can work to achieve shared value in practice, as well as displaying how the complex trade-off between economic and social value creation should be handled. Therefore, this qualitative study examines value- creating activities and the trade-off between economic and social value creation. Purpose: The aim of the study is to contribute to an increased understanding of the activities that create shared value, what it is that motivates the companies to these activities and for how companies manage the complex trade-off between economic and social value creation. Methodology: This qualitative study is from a hermeneutic perspective, has a cross- sectional study design and an abductive research approach. The empirical evidence was collected through two studies, which consisted of semi-structured interviews with respondents from practice and experts within the field. Conclusion: The results of the study displays that companies practice CSV activities, however it ́s explained that it's hard to determine when it's economically rational to achieve shared value and not. Additionally, the study has clarified several driving forces to achieve shared value. Although, it ́s declared that today's legal regulations need further clarification, in order for companies to act more selflessly. Furthermore, the study highlights the trade-off between economic and social value creation and it appears from the results that this ́s the most essential part in the discussion of how companies can achieve shared value. Finally, the companies’ development has shown that an intention to do good for the society has been added, however, the fact that the economic aspect weighs the most still remains.

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