The refugee entrepreneurship process from/in emerging economies

The paper examines several refugee experiences in Mexico and presents their reasons for leaving their home countries. A gap in research is identifying the entrepreneurial process experienced by refugee entrepreneurs. We use the case study of 10 Latin American refugees in Mexico to propose a conceptual framework that describes the entrepreneurial process of refugee entrepreneurs. We have found that this process begins with the abandonment of the country of origin, followed by the traumatic experiences that caused flight and the difficulties they face in the pilgrimage to the host country. These events help shape the entrepreneurial intention of the refugees.

A Quick Approach to the Microfoundations of Social Entrepreneurship

The very first section of the book deals with the phenomenon of social entrepreneurship from a microeconomics perspective. In this line, the individual represents the unit of analysis, that is, the social entrepreneur. Social entrepreneurs are agents who intend to make a positive change in society in such a way that their solution presents a tool to improve the quality of life of the segment of the population they want to target. In these first pages, our intention has been to explain what is inside the mind of the social entrepreneur in the process of developing the idea and putting it into practice. We assumed that entrepreneurs are individuals forming part of a particular society and con…

Social Entrepreneurship as a Form of Institutional Entrepreneurship

Bureaucracy as a form of structuring and working of current organizations may be seen as the result of a set of circumstances. For Weberians, bureaucracy is the consequence of the principles of protestant values applied to the market. For institutionalists, bureaucracy is the outcome of the replication of practices in organizations, that is, bureaucracy is due to isomorphism among organizations. Following the institutional approach, organizations act by imitation. This imitation provides a certain way to compete and work necessary to survival, meaning that this imitation gives stability and equilibrium to the context in which organizations operate. Nevertheless, this equilibrium may not be …

Social Bricolage as the Path to Social Entrepreneurship

In the present chapter, the concept of social bricolage is applied to the particular case of Dr. Mateo. A contextualization of her environment is exposed, for the reader to understand the intrinsic and extrinsic motivators explained in Part I. These influences represent the starting point of her professional career. Dr. Mateo’s interests have always been placed in advancing local solutions for local problems. In Pilar’s case, the phenomenon of entrepreneurship began as an act of seeking economic solvency and survival through her ingenuity, creativity, and innovation. Similarly, the phenomenon of causation-related bricolage predominates, in which the process of incessant experimentation fost…

The business plan as a project: an evaluation of its predictive capability for business success

Although there is extensive research aimed at identifying the main success factors for new ventures, efforts directed at evaluating the real effect of the existence and quality of a business plan on a firm's survival chances have been limited. This study attempts to fill this gap by analyzing to what extent the quality of a business plan, measured according to its economic, financial and organizational viability, constitutes a good predictor of business survival; and how other variables related to the characteristics of the entrepreneur and the business can affect the predictive capability of the model under consideration. Hypotheses are tested using data collected from 2142 service firms. …

Influence of economic crisis on new SME survival: reality or fiction?

AbstractThe aim of this research was to analyse the survival of new ventures during periods of economic crisis. The article compares survival probability during growth and crisis periods. An empirical study was used to analyse new venture survival probability. Results show that new firms have a greater likelihood of surviving during crisis periods than they do during growth periods. An additional aim of the study was to analyse the survival probability of opportunity and necessity entrepreneurs during crisis periods. Results show that gaps in survival likelihood between opportunity and necessity entrepreneurship are bigger during times of crisis than they are during growth periods.

Business Sectors Involved in Social Entrepreneurship

The present chapter offers detailed insights about the characteristics at a microeconomic level of four practical examples of social ventures. After providing a robust theoretical framework about the motivations, challenges and aspirations of social entrepreneurs, it is time to put into practice these conceptions through the lens of real social ventures. The literature encourages the use of case studies to connect the theory groundwork, developed in the academy, to real life. As for this call to study, the present chapter thoroughly covers the ideation and consolidation stages of the selected social ventures, which sheds light for inspiration on a context where social entrepreneurship is in…

Institutional and economic drivers of entrepreneurship: An international perspective

Abstract Entrepreneurial activity varies significantly across countries and over time. The economic and institutional context is a determining factor that can drive and lend shape to entrepreneurial activity. The search for a deeper understanding of the role of this factor constitutes a promising and important research stream. A thorough review of the specialist literature identifies groups of countries with similar economic and institutional environments. Subsequent analysis highlights differences in entrepreneurial activity and innovation outcomes between these homogeneous groups. Results indicate significant differences, not only in entrepreneurial activity, but also in the type of entre…

Crowdfunding and Social Entrepreneurship: Spotlight on Intermediaries

This study contributes to the literature by describing how crowdfunding platforms that host social entrepreneurship projects build and preserve legitimacy. We study three intermediaries, analyzing the actions they take to ensure that creators and funders perceive crowdfunding as a trustworthy form of alternative finance. This study shows that the legitimacy that funders ascribe to a project&rsquo

Legitimacy of Social Ventures

Legitimacy of organizations or ways of acting remains a basic factor to compete. A company whose actions differ from other companies may have legitimacy issues. To overcome them, it will be necessary to demonstrate that the new actions are also legitimate. To do so, a process of legitimation is necessary. This process alone will confer the necessary taken-for-grantedness to survive. Social entrepreneurship, as a type of institutional entrepreneurship, can experiment with these difficulties. Studying these difficulties becomes necessary to understand the conflicts of interest that move society for or against social ventures.

Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) applied to the adaptation of the automobile industry to meet the emission standards of climate change policies via the deployment of electric vehicles (EVs)

Abstract Facing global climate change challenges entails a sustainable development of transportation. Governments and automobile manufacturers are highly aware of how a large-scale deployment of Electric Vehicles (EVs) can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mitigate global warming. This study aids the design of the adaptation strategies of the automotive industry to meet global goals on climate change by means of a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), which makes it possible to measure the level of actors’ satisfaction. This allows identification of a combination of factors leading to the outcome while dealing with uncertain environments due to the heterogeneous nature…

Institutional Issues About Social Entrepreneurship

This chapter summarizes the main conclusions of this part of the book. In doing so, it explains the value that social ventures add to their contexts. Revisiting each one of the chapters of the macro perspective addressed in the second section of the book, social entrepreneurship is seen as a way to solve social problems. By way of this problem-solving, social ventures present legitimacy issues. However, once the difficulties are overcome, it is important to spread the values and principles that guide social entrepreneurship. The last part of this chapter is dedicated to limitations and future research in acquiring the macro approach.

An Avenue to Social Equilibrium

The purpose of the second part of the third part of the book is to show how the theory translates into reality. That is why the most important factors studied in the first and second parts of the book are concluded in this chapter. The first part of the chapter is addressed to examine the personal characteristics and motivation of the social entrepreneur, that is, it is focused on the micro approach. The second part is addressed to analyze the institutional context, that is, it comprehends the macro approach. Based on this, the chapter shows the stages followed by social entrepreneurs to shift the context. The legitimation process is the base of this shift.

The impact of social capital and collaborative knowledge creation on e-business proactiveness and organizational agility in responding to the COVID-19 crisis

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of social capital and collaborative knowledge creation in achieving e-business proactiveness in responding to the COVID-19 crisis An online survey was used to collect data from industries that had to continue working during the crisis, such as the pharmaceutical and cleaning materials sectors The sample consisted of 198 managers The findings show that social capital and collaborative knowledge creation have a significant role in achieving e-business proactiveness in responding to the pandemic The results also show the positive impact of collaborative knowledge creation and e-business proactiveness on organizational agility during the crisis T…

Social Entrepreneurship: Where to Go Next?

This chapter summarizes the main conclusions of the micro perspective section. It revises the foundations of the social entrepreneurs and outlines a path for future avenues of social entrepreneurship. However, although the unit of analysis is the individual, this does not mean that it is an individual phenomenon. In fact, it can be considered as a widespread collective phenomenon, that is, the small initiative of a social entrepreneur at a local level can also be successfully replicated in other places around the globe. The social entrepreneur becomes himself through the influences and motivations of the environment, added to his innate and unique characteristics, these intrinsic motivation…

The Origins of Social Ventures

This chapter addresses the social venture as a form of organization that has a role in the current society. In an economy based on markets, the intervention of multiple actors by itself—like governments, social movements, charity, and social ventures—cannot ensure the mechanisms necessary to the proper working of the system. In this way, markets present a set of failures and externalities that government action tries to solve. However, government action is limited due to a set of circumstances. Social movements and charity emerge to overcome the government’s limitations. Social entrepreneurship, as the last organization analyzed in this chapter, arises when social movements and charities fa…

Intelligent purchasing : How artificial intelligence can redefine the purchasing function

Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) can affect all of a company’s functions, not least the purchasing department. In addition to automating and optimizing existing processes, AI opens up new opportunities for purchasers to undertake new, strategic, collaborative, enduring missions. AI enables complex, strategic decision-making in an unpredictable, hostile environment. This article analyzes to what extent AI can improve the performance of the purchasing department. First, a review is undertaken of how AI is used in purchasing. Thereafter, the research follows an exploratory, inductive, and qualitative approach based on a multiple case study of the following technologies: (1) the Synertrade…

The Contexts Where Social Ventures Develop

This chapter starts from the idea that definitions are crucial to understanding diverse phenomenology. This importance is a basic factor of social entrepreneurship. Defining social entrepreneurship will allow the academia to measure the magnitude of the phenomenon. Through two studies that link the phenomenon of social entrepreneurship with post-materialistic values, it can be concluded that social ventures emerge in certain contexts. Finally, the chapter ends with the thought that although social ventures are a form of organization that may or may not emerge, their values are necessary for current ventures.

Social Constructionist and Social Engineer

This chapter follows the times series of the previous chapter. It is not just the scale of the problem that distinguishes one stage from another but also the nature of the problem. When social entrepreneurs try to shift the context in an institutional approach, they have to face some issues previously described in the second part of the book. This case study exemplifies what these issues are, linked to the concept of legitimacy, and the strategies carried out by the social entrepreneur to overcome them.

The determinants of social CRM entrepreneurship : An institutional perspective

Abstract Despite a growing interest in social media adoption by corporations, there is minimal knowledge about the drivers of social customer relationship management (SCRM). This study examines the determinants of SCRM entrepreneurship from an institutional perspective and specifically from the banking sector. Data on 19 banks were obtained from 183 responses to a questionnaire. These data were analyzed using Partial Least Square (PLS) path modeling. The findings show that organizational and technological contexts have a significant positive impact on SCRM entrepreneurship. The results also reveal a significant impact of institutional normative and coercive pressures on SCRM entrepreneurshi…

The Lineup of Social Entrepreneurship

As an introductory chapter to the second section, this chapter describes the sequence of the social entrepreneurship analysis followed from the macro perspective. As a chronology, the construction of social ventures begins with a social problem or an unjust social equilibrium. At this point, an individual tries to change the unjust situation through a disruptive idea. The big challenge for that individual arises because, as in any equilibrium situation, institutional forces make difficult the shift from one situation to another. One of the main issues linked to the institutional forces is legitimacy, which can be seen to a certain extent as conflicts of interest. Finally, social ventures an…

Client orientation in fashion e-commerce: a comparative study

[EN] E-business and especially e-commerce represents one of the most important ways of doing business in the current context. That is why, researchers are doing a great effort in studying how Business to Consumer platforms manage the relationship with their clients. Regarding the most important channels of connection between consumers and companies in online market, the websites and Apps, this study analyzes the way in which e-businesses present the information to their clients from a client-focused strategy point of view. The present study evaluates how two important e-commerce companies deal with this in such a competitive market as fashion and aims to state some success guidelines for fa…

Board of director attributes: effects on financial performance in SMEs

This paper analyses the relationship between board of director (BoD) attributes and financial performance in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Although SMEs are the backbone of world economies, most studies on this relationship focused on large companies and did not consider many typical or recommended processes and activities carried out by SME BoDs. We monitored a set of variables related to BoD attributes such as composition, characteristics, structure and processes for 184 Italian SMEs along with their financials over a 4-year period (2014–2017). We controlled for enterprise-specific characteristics such as annual sales growth, assets value, sales turnover, leverage, com pany s…

Introduction and Empirical Framework

Part III describes the methodology used to converge the micro and macro approach. The methodology chosen has been the case study. The first part of this chapter justifies the election of the methodology. The second part is the explanation of the case study. Through diverse sources of archival data as well as scientific papers and an interview with her founder (Dr. Mateo), the chapter addresses the issue of social entrepreneurship’s role as a problem solver showing the case of a social entrepreneur and the technology developed to change the context. The methodology is presented as a time series that the entrepreneur follows until she finds a way to add value to society. The critical moment a…

Sources of Financing for Social Entrepreneurship

The following chapter discusses the main forms of financing for social entrepreneurship. The ultimate goal of social entrepreneurship is to create social value. To this end, financial means act as intermediaries to achieve this goal. These means must be aligned with the mission, vision, and values of the new venture. Therefore, there must be certain parallelism in the modus operandi of the entrepreneurial companies and the institutions supporting their launch in the market with economic resources. Since social entrepreneurship arises as a new paradigm to create the business, its financing sources represent a new method to obtain economic resources. Ethical banking is the core concept of the…

Who Is the Social Entrepreneur?

Social entrepreneurs are understood as individuals integrated within a society, being continually influenced by the environment. This chapter explains that the constitution of a social entrepreneur is determined by external variables (environmental influences) and internal variables (characteristics of the individual). Among the external influences, we should highlight the Triple Bottom Line phenomenon, the Corporate Social Responsibility trend, technological advances and the Sustainable Development Goals. The intrinsic motivators would be divided into three different dimensions: attitude and intention, personality traits and leadership skills. The synergies produced as a consequence of the…

Social Entrepreneurship from a Chronological Approach: A Path for Change