Skip to main content

Social Ventures for Sustainability

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

  • 179 Accesses

Synonyms

Economic value; Environmental value; Social entrepreneurship; Social value; Social venture; Sustainability

Definition

Social ventures also known as social business or social enterprise adopt innovative business techniques to reach solution for social problems which markets fail to accomplish. Social ventures are mission-centric business organizations which seek to engage disadvantaged groups of people in livelihood activities by providing fair wages or salaries or start creative businesses with deeper understanding of felt needs (Townsend and Hart 2008) among low-purchasing power communities (Seelos and Mair 2005). Social venture along with the objective of achieving social change has to compete with conventional business organizations in producing similar goods and services. It is considered unique as it combines the social and economic mission in a sustainable manner.

Introduction

In economic perspective, an entrepreneur is a creative person with exceptional innovative ideas...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aldrich H (1995) Entrepreneurial strategies in new organizational populations. In: Bull I, Thomas H, Willard G (eds) Entrepreneurship perspectives on theory building. Pergamon, Oxford, pp 91–108

    Google Scholar 

  • Aldrich HE, Zimmer C (1986) Entrepreneurship through social networks. In: Sexton D, Smiler R (eds) The art and science of entrepreneurship. Ballinger, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Brinckerhoff PC (2000) Social entrepreneurship: the art of mission-based venture development. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Chell E (2007) Social enterprise and entrepreneurship – towards a convergent theory of the entrepreneurial process. Int Small Bus J 25(1):5–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dean TJ, McMullan JS (2007) Towards a theory of sustainable entrepreneurship: reducing environmental degradation through entrepreneurial action. J Bus Ventur 22:50–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dees GJ (1998) Enterprising nonprofits. Harv Bus Rev 76(1):54–61

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Defourny J (2010) Concept and realities of social enterprise: a European perspective. In: Fayolle A, Matlay H (eds) Handbook of research on social entrepreneurship. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, pp 57–87

    Google Scholar 

  • Dixon SE, Clifford A (2007) Ecopreneurship – a new approach to managing the triple bottom line. J Organ Chang Manag 20(3):326. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsbl&AN=RN209162773&site=eds-live. Accessed 7 May 2019

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Downing S (2005) The social construction of entrepreneurship: narrative and dramatic processes in the co-production of organisations and identities. Enterp Theory Pract 29(2):185–204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elkington J (1998) Partnerships from cannibals with forks: the triple bottom line of 21st-century business. Environ Qual Manag 8(1):37. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsbl&AN=RN054347728&site=eds-live. Accessed 7 May 2019

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall J, Matos S, Sheehan L, Silvestre B (2012) Entrepreneurship and innovation at the base of the pyramid: a recipe for inclusive growth or social exclusion? J Manag Stud 49(4):785–812

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henry H (2015) Social justice through enterprises: the end of the 1972/1973 conjuncture? A legal perspective. Int J Soc Qual 5(2):81. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsglr&AN=edsgcl.459423560&site=eds-live. Accessed 18 Nov 2018

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • https://unltd.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Youth-led-social-enterprise-report-formatted.pdf. Accessed 27 Apr 2018

  • Kreiner T (2013) Social entrepreneurship as practical social justice. J Manag Glob Sustain 1(2):1–5. https://journals.ateneo.edu/ojs/index.php/jmgs/article/view/JM2013.01201/1689. Accessed 20 Nov 2018

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moizer J, Tracey P (2010) Strategy making in social enterprise: the role of resource allocation and its effects on organizational sustainability. Syst Res Behav Sci 27(3):252–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morris MH, Webb JW, Franklin RJ (2011) Understanding the manifestation of entrepreneurial orientation in the non-profit context. Entrep Theory Pract 35:947–971

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moss TW, Short JC, Payne GT, Lumpkin GT (2010) Dual identities in social ventures: an exploratory study. Entrep Theory Pract 35(4):805–830

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls A (2006) Playing the field: a new approach to the meaning of social entrepreneurship. Soc Enterp J 2:1–5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls A (2008) Social entrepreneurship: new models of sustainable social change. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Paton R (2003) Managing and measuring social enterprises. SAGE, Thousand Oaks

    Google Scholar 

  • Peredo AM, Chrisman JJ (2006) Toward a theory of community-based enterprise. Acad Manag Rev 31(2):309–328

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson R, Shulman J (1987) Entrepreneurs and bank lending in Canada. J Small Bus Entrep 5:41–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prahalad CK (2004) The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid: eradicating poverty with profits. Wharton Business Publishing, Philadelphia

    Google Scholar 

  • Prahalad CK, Hart S (2002) The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid. Strategy Bus 48:1–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Schuler DA, Cording M (2006) A corporate social performance–corporate financial performance behavioral model for consumers. Acad Manag Rev 31(3):540–558

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seelos C, Mair J (2005) Social entrepreneurship: creating new business models to serve the poor. Bus Horiz 48(3):241–246

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shapero A, Sokol L (1982) The social dimensions of entrepreneurship. In: Kent C, Sexton D, Vesper KH (eds) The encyclopedia of entrepreneurship. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, pp 72–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Siegel JI (2005) Can foreign firms bond themselves effectively by renting U.S. securities laws? J Financ Econ 73:319–359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spear R (2008) The social economy from the perspective of active inclusion: employment opportunities for people far from the labour market. Peer review in social protection and social inclusion 2008. Belgium 12–13.06.2008. Synthesis report

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson J, Doherty B (2006) The diverse world of social enterprise: a collection of social enterprise stories. Int J Soc Econ 33(5/6):361–375. https://doi.org/10.1108/03068290610660643

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Townsend DM, Hart TA (2008) Perceived institutional ambiguity and the choice of organizational form in social entrepreneurial ventures. Entrep Theory Pract 32(4):685–700

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wüstenhagen R, Sharma S, Starik M, Wuebker R (2008) Sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurship: introduction to the volume. In: Wüstenhagen R, Hamschmidt J, Sharma S, Starik M (eds) Sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, pp 1–23

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Iftekhar Alam .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Section Editor information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Alam, I. (2020). Social Ventures for Sustainability. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A.M., Brandli, L., Lange Salvia, A., Özuyar, P.G., Wall, T. (eds) Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71066-2_20-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71066-2_20-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-71066-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-71066-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics