Abstract
Over the past several decades the concept of social enterprise has grown dramatically in many regions of the world. Defined as the use of nongovernmental, market-based approaches to address social issues, social enterprise often provides a ‘business’ source of revenue for many types of socially oriented organizations and activities.1 However, within these broad parameters, world regions have come to identify different definitions and concepts with the social enterprise movement in their areas (Kerlin, 2006). This variation has also resulted in considerable debate among researchers and practitioners on how to define the concept (Mair et al., 2006; Light, 2008). To address these difficulties, this research draws on the theory of historical institutionalism to advance understanding of how context influences the development of social enterprise as well as to propose a preliminary conceptual framework for social enterprise that spans regional differences in the term.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Austin, J.E. (2006). “Three Avenues for Social Entrepreneurship Research.” In J. Mair, J. Robinson and K. Hockerts (eds), Social Entrepreneurship. New York: Palgrave Macmillan: 22–33.
Bagnoli, L. and Megali, C. (2011). “Measuring Performance in Social Enterprises.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 40(1): 149–165.
Barbetta, G.P., Cima, S., Nereo, Z., Sokolowski, S.W. and Salamon, L.M. (2004). “Italy.” In L. Salamon and S. Sokolowski (eds), Global Civil Society. Dimensions of the Nonprofit Sector, vol. 2. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press.
Baumol, W.J. (1990). “Entrepreneurship: Productive, Unproductive and Destructive.” Journal of Political Economy, 98(5): 893–921.
Borzaga, C. (1996). “Social Cooperatives and Work Integration in Italy.” Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 67(2): 209–234.
Borzaga, C., & Defourny, J. (Eds.). (2001). The Emergence of Social Enterprise. New York: Routledge.
Borzaga, C. & Santuari, A. (2001). Italy: From traditional co-operatives to innovative social enterprises. In Borzaga, C., & Defourny, J. (Eds.), The Emergence of Social Enterprise (pp. 166–181). New York: Routledge.
Bosma, N. and Levie, J. (2010). Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2009 Global Report. www.gemconsortium.org/about.aspx?page=pub_gem_global_reports
Cooney, K. (2011). “An Exploratory Study of Social Purpose Business Models in the United States.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 40(1): 185–196.
Dacanay, M. (Ed.). (2004). Creating Space in the Market: Social Enterprise Stories in Asia. Makati City, Philippines: Asian Institute of Management and Conference of Asian Foundations and Organizations.
Evans, P. B., Rueschemeyer, D., & Skocpol, T. (1985). Bringing the State Back in. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Franke, R.H., Hofstede, G., & Bond, M.H. (1991). “Cultural Roots of Economic Performance: A Research Note.” Strategic Management Journal, 12:165–173.
Gawell, M., Johannisson, B., & Lundqvist, M. (Eds.) (2009). Entrepreneurship in the Name of Society. Stockholm, Sweden: Knowledge Foundation.
Goldstone, J. (2003). “Comparative Historical Analysis and Knowledge Accumulation in the Study of Revolutions.” In J. Mahoney & D. Rueschemeyer (Eds.), Comparative historical analysis in the social sciences (pp. 41–90). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations across Nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
House, R. J., Hanges, P. J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. W., & Gupta, V. (2004). Culture, leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Jacobs, J. E. & Maldonado, M. (2005). “Civil Society in Argentina: Opportunities and Challenges for National and Transnational Organisation.” Journal of Latin American Studies, 37: 141–172.
Kerlin, J. A. (2006). Social enterprise in the United States and Europe: Understanding and learning from the differences. Voluntas, 17(3): 247–263.
Kerlin, J. A. (Ed.). (2009). Social Enterprise: a Global Comparison. Lebanon, NH: Tufts University Press.
Kerlin, J. A., & Gagnaire, K. (2009). United States. In Kerlin, J. (Ed.), Social Enterprise: a Global Comparison. Lebanon, NH: Tufts University Press.
Kerlin, J. A., & Pollak, T. (2011). “Nonprofit Commercial Revenue: a Replacement for Declining Government Grants and Private Contributions?” American Review of Public Administration, 41(6): 686–705.
Les, E. and Jeliazkova, M. (2005). “The Social Economy in Central, East and South East Europe.” In The Social Economy as a Tool of Social Innovation and Local Development. Background Report. Paris: OECD.
Levander, U. (2010). “Social Enterprise: Implications of Emerging Institutionalized Constructions.” Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 1(2): 213–230.
Levie, J., & Autio, E. (2008). a Theoretical Grounding and Test of the gem Model. Small Business Economics, 31(3): 235–263.
Light, P. C. (2008). The Search for Social Entrepreneurship. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
Liu, G., & Ko, W. W. (forthcoming). “Organizational learning and marketing capability development: A study of the charity retailing operations of British social enterprise. “Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.
Lundstrom, T. and Wijkstrom, F. (1995). “Defining the Nonprofit Sector: Sweden.” Working Papers of the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project, no. 16. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies.
Mahoney, J. (2000). “Path Dependence in Historical Sociology.” Theory and Society, 29(4), 507–548.
Mahoney, J. (2003). “Knowledge Accumulation in Comparative Historical Research: The Case of Democracy and Authoritarianism.” In J. Mahoney & D. Rueschemeyer (Eds.), Comparative Historical Analysis in the Social Sciences (pp. 131–176). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Mahoney, J., & Rueschemeyer, D. (Eds.). (2003). Comparative Historical Analysis in the Social Sciences. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Mair, J., Robinson, J., & Hockerts, K. (2006). “Introduction.” In J. Mair, J. Robinson, & K. Hockerts (Eds.), Social Entrepreneurship (pp. 1–13). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Masendeke, A., & Mugova, A. (2009). “Zimbabwe and Zambia.” In J. Kerlin (Ed.), Social Enterprise: a Global Comparison (pp. 114–138). Lebanon, NH: Tufts University Press.
Moore, B. Jr. (1966). Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World. Boston: Beacon Press.
Mulgan, G. (2006). “Cultivating the Other Invisible Hand of Social Entrepreneurship: Comparative Advantage, Public Policy, and Future Research Priorities.” In A. Nicholls (Ed.), Social Entrepreneurship: New Models of Sustainable Change (pp. 74–95). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
NANGO ((Zimbabwe) National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations). (2010). Early Warning System Report Reporting Period October 2009–February 2010, www.nango.org.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=72&Itemi d=265
Nicholls, A. (2006). “Introduction.” In A. Nicholls (Ed.), Social Entrepreneurship: New Models of Sustainable Change (pp. 1–36). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nyssens, M. (Ed.). (2006). “Social Enterprise: at the Crossroads of Market, Public Policies and Civil Society.” New York: Routledge.
Nyssens. M. (2009). “Western Europe.” In Kerlin, J. (Ed.), Social Enterprise: a Global Comparison. Lebanon, NH: Tufts University Press.
Putnam, R. (1993). Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Roitter, M., & Vivas, A. (2009). “Argentina.” In J. Kerlin (Ed.), Social Enterprise: a Global Comparison (pp. 139–162). Lebanon, NH: Tufts University Press.
Rueschemeyer, D. (2009). “Usable Theory: Analytic Tools for Social and Political Research. “Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Rueschemeyer, D., Stephens, E. H., & Stephens, J.D. (1992). Capitalist Development and Democracy. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Sala-i-Martin, X., Blanke, J., Hanouz, M., Geiger, T., & Mia, I. (2009). The Global Competitiveness Index 2009–2010: “Contributing to Long-Term Prosperity Amid the Global Economic Crisis.” In K. Schwab (Ed.), The Global Competitiveness Report 2009–2010. Geneva: World Economic Forum: 3–47, www.weforum.org/pdf/GCR09/GCR20092010fullreport
Sala-i-Martin, X., Blanke, J., Hanouz, M., Geiger, T., & Mia, I. (2010). “The Global Competitiveness Index 2010–2011: Looking beyond the Global Economic Crisis.” In K. Schwab (Ed.), The Global Competitiveness Report 2010–2011. Geneva: World Economic Forum: 3–55, http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2010–11.pdf.
Salamon, L. and Sokolowski, S. (2009). “Bringing the ‘Social’ and the ‘Political’ to Civil Society: Social Origins of Civil Society Sectors in 40 Countries.” Paper presented at the 38th Annual Conference of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, November 12–21, Cleveland, OH.
Salamon, L. and Sokolowski, S. (2010). “The Social Origins of Civil Society: Explaining Variations in the Size and Structure of the Global Civil Society Sector.” Paper presented at the 9th International Conference of the International Society for Third Sector Research, July 7–10, Istanbul, Turkey.
Salamon, L., Sokolowski, S.W. and Anheier, H.K. (2000). “Social Origins of Civil Society: An Overview.” Working Paper of the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project, no. 38. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies.
Salamon, L., Anheier, H., List, R., Toepler, S., Sokolowski, S., & Associates. (2004). Global Civil Society: Dimensions of the Nonprofit Sector, vol. 2. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press.
Schwab, K. (ed.) (2010). The Global Competitiveness Report 2010–2011. Geneva: World Economic Forum: 3–55), http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2010–11.pdf
Shane, S. (1992). “Why Do Some Countries Invent More Than Others?” Journal of Business Venturing, 7: 29–46.
Shane, S. (1993). “Cultural Influences on National Rates of Innovation.” Journal of Business Venturing, 8: 59–73.
Skocpol, T. (1973). “A Critical Review of Barrington Moore’s Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy.” Politics and Society, 4(1): 1–34.
Skocpol, T. (1979) States and Social Revolutions. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Spear, R., & Bidet, E. (2005). “Social Enterprise for Work Integration in 12 European Countries: a Descriptive Analysis.” Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 76(2): 195–231.
Squazzoni, F. (2009). “Social Entrepreneurship and Economic Development in Silicon Valley. “Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38(5): 869–883.
Stryjan, Y. (2001). “Sweden: the Emergence of Work-Integration Social Enterprises.” In Borzaga, C., & Defourny, J. (Eds.), The Emergence of Social Enterprise (pp. 220–235). New York: Routledge.
Stryjan, Y. (2004). “Work Integration Social Enterprises in Sweden.” Working Papers Series, no. 04/02, Liège: EMES European Research Network.
Thelen, K. (1999). “Historical Institutionalism in Comparative Politics.” Annual Review of Political Science, 2, 369–404.
Tiessen, J. H. (1997). “Individualism, Collectivism, and Entrepreneurship: a Framework for International Comparative Research.” Journal of Business Venturing, 12: 367–384.
Wijkstrom, F. (2000). “Changing Focus Or Changing Role? the Swedish Nonprofit Sector in the 1990s.” German Policy Studies. 1(2): 161–188.
World Bank (2008). World Development Indicators. World Bank World Databank accessed at http://databank.worldbank.org/ddp/home.do?Step=12&id=4&CNO=2
World Bank (2010). Governance Matters 2010: Worldwide Governance Indicators, 1996–2008. Country Data Reports, http://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/pdf/WBI_GovInd.pdf
Young, D. (2003). “New Trends in the U.S. Non-profit Sector: Towards Market Integration?” In The Nonprofit Sector in a Changing Economy (pp. 61–77). Paris: OECD.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2012 Janelle A. Kerlin
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kerlin, J.A. (2012). Defining Social Enterprise across Different Contexts: A Conceptual Framework Based on Institutional Factors. In: Gidron, B., Hasenfeld, Y. (eds) Social Enterprises. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137035301_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137035301_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-34757-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-03530-1
eBook Packages: Palgrave Business & Management CollectionBusiness and Management (R0)