Abstract
Social entrepreneurship (SE) is perceived as a legitimate and innovative solution to social problems. Yet, when one looks at the literature one finds that the social problems that the SE movement seeks to address and how these problems are identified and defined are not studied. This lack of attention to the defining of social problems in SE has implications for the domain for problems do not exist unless they are recognized and defined, and those that define problems have influence on how these will eventually be addressed. Our paper presents an analysis of framing activities in SE done by the actors involved in the development and promotion of the SE movement. Our analysis reveals that these actors are concerned with creating an ecosystem to support social entrepreneurs. Critical analysis of discourses of these actors reveals a powerful mobilization discourse, one that supports social entrepreneurs as the agents of change. We also find that as the SE movement emerged at the beginning of a cycle of protest against capitalist systems, their framing of SE as system changing of these very systems therefore finds strong resonance with a wide variety of actors.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arthur, L., Keenoy, T., Scott-Cato, M., & Smith, R. (2010). Where is the ‘social’ in social enterprise? In D. Fuller, A. E. G. Jonas, & R. Lee (Eds.), Interrogating alterity: Alternative economic and political spaces (pp. 207–222). Aldersho: Ashgate.
Ashoka. (2016). Ashoka: Innovators for the public. Accessed April 17, 2015. https://www.ashoka.org/.
Ayres, J. M. (2004). Framing collective action against neoliberalism: The case of the anti-globalization movement. Journal of World-Systems Research, 10(1), 11–34.
Bacq, S., & Janssen, F. (2011). The multiple faces of social entrepreneurship: A review of definitional issues based on geographical and thematic criteria. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 23(5–6), 373–403.
Battilana, J., & Lee, M. (2014). Advancing research on hybrid organizing—Insights from the study of social enterprises. The Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), 397–441.
Benford, R. D., & Snow, D. A. (2000). Framing processes and social movements: An overview and assessment. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 611–639.
Blumer, H. (1971). Social problems as collective behavior. Social Problems, 18, 298–306.
Broek, T. A., Ehrenhard, M. L., Langley, D. J., & Groen, A. J. (2012). Dotcauses for sustainability: Combining activism and entrepreneurship. Journal of Public Affairs, 12(3), 214–223.
Brutsch, A. (2016). Inspiring social entrepreneurship: Hilde Schwab—Recognizing the best. Accessed February 12, 2016, from http://www.swissstyle.com/social-entrepreneurship/.
Chen, S. (2012). Creating sustainable international social ventures. Thunderbird International Business Review, 54(1), 131–142.
Chowdry, S. (2015). If a leader serves himself, there will be no trust: Klaus Schwab. Accessed February 12, 2016, from http://www.livemint.com/Politics/5TyjFO84HXWNfL02uSO8uM/If-a-leader-serves-himself-there-will-be-no-trust-Klaus-Sc.html.
Dentoni, D., Bitzer, V., & Pascucci, S. (2016). Cross-sector partnerships and the co-creation of dynamic capabilities for stakeholder orientation. Journal of Business Ethics, 135(1), 35–53.
Dey, P., & Lehner, O. (2016). Registering ideology in the creation of social entrepreneurs: Intermediary organizations, ‘ideal subject’and the promise of enjoyment. Journal of Business Ethics,. doi:10.1007/s10551-016-3112-z.
Dey, P., & Steyaert, C. (2012). Social entrepreneurship: Critique and the radical enactment of the social. Social Enterprise Journal, 8(2), 90–107.
Dey, P., & Teasdale, S. (2016). The tactical mimicry of social enterprise strategies: Acting ‘as if’in the everyday life of third sector organizations. Organization, 23(4), 485–504.
Diani, M. (1992). The concept of social movement. The Sociological Review, 40(1), 1–25.
Dorado, S., & Ventresca, M. J. (2013). Crescive entrepreneurship in complex social problems: Institutional conditions for entrepreneurial engagement. Journal of Business Venturing, 28(1), 69–82.
Drayton, B. (2013). A team of teams world. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 11(2), 57.
Edelman, M. (2001). Social movements: Changing paradigms and forms of politics. Annual Review of Anthropology, 30, 285–317.
Gamson, W. A. (1992). Talking politics (p. 272). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Gee, J. P. (2011). An introduction to discourse analysis: Theory and method. New York: Routledge.
Goffman, E. (1974). Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Grant, H. M., & Crutchfield, L. (2008). The hub of leadership: lessons from the social sector. Leader to Leader, 2008(48), 45–52.
Hargrave, T. J., & Van de Ven, A. H. (2006). A collective action model of institutional innovation. Academy of Management Review, 31(4), 864–888.
Hervieux, C., Gedajlovic, E., & Turcotte, M.-F. B. (2010). The legitimization of social entrepreneurship. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 4(1), 37–67.
Kanani, R. (2011). The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship on the evolution and future of social enterprise. Accessed June 16, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rahim-kanani/schwab-foundation-social-entrepreneurship-_b_858312.html.
Kerlin, J. A., & Pollak, T. H. (2011). Nonprofit commercial revenue: A replacement for declining government grants and private contributions? The American Review of Public Administration, 41(6), 686–704.
Khandker, S. R., & Samad, H. A. (2014). Dynamic effects of microcredit in Bangladesh. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper (6821), pp. 1–50.
Klandermans, B. (1984). Mobilization and participation: Social-psychological expansisons of resource mobilization theory. American Sociological Review, 49(5), 583–600.
Le Monde. (2014). Bill Drayton: La création de valeur viendra de la contribution au changement. Accessed February 12, 2016, from http://www.lemonde.fr/emploi/article/2014/06/16/bill-drayton-la-creation-de-valeur-viendra-de-la-contribution-au-changement_4439287_1698637.html.
Mair, J., & Marti, I. (2006). Social entrepreneurship research: A source of explanation, prediction, and delight. Journal of world business, 41(1), 36–44.
Malinsky, E. (2012). Bill Drayton’s five trends for social entrepreneurs. Accessed February 12, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eli-malinsky/bill-draytons-five-trends_b_2287819.html.
Martin, R. L., & Osberg, S. (2007). Social entrepreneurship: The case for definition. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 5(2), 28–39.
Martin, R. L., & Osberg, S. (2015). Getting beyond better: How social entrepreneurship works. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.
Mason, C. (2012). Up for grabs: A critical discourse analysis of social entrepreneurship discourse in the United Kingdom. Social Enterprise Journal, 8(2), 123–140.
McCright, A. M., & Dunlap, R. E. (2000). Challenging global warming as a social problem: An analysis of the conservative movement’s counter-claims. Social Problems, 47(4), 499–522.
Melucci, A. (1989). Nomads of the present: Social movements and individual needs in contemporary society. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Michailakis, D., & Schirmer, W. (2014). Social work and social problems: A contribution from systems theory and constructionism. International Journal of Social Welfare, 23(4), 431–442.
Nee, E. (2012). Foundations: Jeff Skoll. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 10(2), 27–29.
Nicholls, A. (2010). The legitimacy of social entrepreneurship: Reflexive isomorphism in a pre-paradigmatic field. Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice, 34(4), 611–633.
Parkinson, C., & Howorth, C. (2008). The language of social entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 20(3), 285–309.
Phillips, N., Sewell, G., & Jaynes, S. (2008). Applying critical discourse analysis in strategic management research. Organizational Research Methods, 11(4), 770–789.
Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2011). Creating shared value. Harvard Business Review, 89(1/2), 62–77.
Prahalad, C. K. (2004). The blinders of dominant logic. Long Range Planning, 37(2), 171–179.
Reinecke, J., & Ansari, S. (2015). Taming wicked problems: The role of framing in the construction of corporate social responsibility. Journal of Management Studies, 53(3), 299–329.
Scheuer, C.-L., & Mills, A. (2016). Discursivity and media constructions of the intern: Implications for pedagogy and practice. Academy of Management Learning & Education. doi:10.5465/amle.2014.0358.
Schneider, J. W. (1985). Social problems theory: The constructionist view. Annual Review of Sociology, 11, 209–229.
Schwab Foundation. (2016). Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. Accessed February 17, 2016. http://www.schwabfound.org/.
Skoll Foundation. (2016). Skoll. Accessed April 14, 2015. http://skoll.org/.
Snow, D. A., & Benford, R. D. (1988). Ideology, frame resonance, and participant mobilization. International Social Movement Research, 1(1), 197–217.
Snow, D. A., Rochford, E. B, Jr., Worden, S. K., & Benford, R. D. (1986). Frame alignment processes, micromobilization, and movement participation. American Sociological Review, 51(4), 464–481.
Spector, M., & Kitsuse, J. I. (1973). Social problems: A re-formulation. Social Problems, 21(2), 145–159.
Spector, M., & Kitsuse, J. I. (1977). Constructing social problems. Menlo Park, CA: Cummings.
Tarrow, S. (1983a). Resource mobilization and cycles of protest: Theoretical reflections and comparative illustrations. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Detroit, August 31–September 4.
Tarrow, S. (1983b). Struggling to reform: Social movements and policy change during cycles of protest. Western societies. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University.
Touraine, A. (1988). Return of the actor: Social theory in postindustrial society. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Valente, M. (2012). Theorizing firm adoption of sustaincentrism. Organization Studies, 33(4), 563–591.
Wodak, R., & Meyer, M. (Eds.). (2009). Methods of critical discourse analysis (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
World Economic Forum. (2013). Breaking the binary: Policy guide to scaling social innovation. Accessed April 17, 2015, from http://reports.weforum.org/social-innovation-2013/.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hervieux, C., Voltan, A. Framing Social Problems in Social Entrepreneurship. J Bus Ethics 151, 279–293 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3252-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3252-1