The rise of hybrid ventures is proof that another way of doing business is possible. Many developments in the last 15 years highlight the significance of social entrepreneurship: the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize to Grameen Bank, the efforts of scholars in studying social ventures, and the new academic programs at Ivy League universities, as well as the creation of indices such as the United Nations Human Development Index to measure non-economic issues. This book portrays these as strong indicators to support the development and sustenance of a market-based economy that also imbibes social progress and human values. This book emphasizes that awareness of the conditions under which social start-ups emerge is crucial. The authors provide a thorough and empirical analysis of the emergence of social entrepreneurship using the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data as well as case studies from practice. From the perspective of individuals, they examine the most important characteristics of social entrepreneurs, and from a macro perspective, social ventures are studied as agents of change. A handpicked collection of successful cases of social ventures also provides the reader with an awareness of the best practices.

This book investigates the remarkable growth of the 'third sector', focusing on social enterprises, their characteristics, their contribution and their future prospects.

In development circles, there is now widespread consensus that social entrepreneurs represent a far better mechanism to respond to needs than we have ever had before--a decentralized and emergent force that remains our best hope for solutions that can keep pace with our problems and create a more peaceful world.David Bornstein's previous book on social entrepreneurship, How to Change the World, was hailed by Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times as "a bible in the field" and published in more than twenty countries. Now, Bornstein shifts the focus from the profiles of successful social innovators in that book--and teams with Susan Davis, a founding board member of the Grameen Foundation--to offer the first general overview of social entrepreneurship. In a Q & A format allowing readers to go directly to the information they need, the authors map out social entrepreneurship in its broadest terms as well as in its particulars.Bornstein and Davis explain what social entrepreneurs are, how their organizations function, and what challenges they face. The book will give readers an understanding of what differentiates social entrepreneurship from standard business ventures and how it differs from traditional grant-based non-profit work. Unlike the typical top-down, model-based approach to solving problems employed by the World Bank and other large institutions, social entrepreneurs work through a process of iterative learning--learning by doing--working with communities to find unique, local solutions to unique, local problems. Most importantly, the book shows readers exactly how they can get involved.Anyone inspired by Barack Obama's call to service and who wants to learn more about the essential features and enormous promise of this new method of social change, Social Entrepreneurship is the ideal first place to look.

This text brings together the established pedagogy of entrepreneurship with cutting edge nonprofit and public management tools. Measuring social value, earned income, donations and government income, entrepreneurial fundraising and marketing, and social enterprise business plans. For the entrepreneur who seeks to understand the social and non-for-profit sectors.

Social entrepreneurship differs from traditional forms of entrepreneurship in that the primary goal of the social venture is to address social problems and needs that are as yet unmet. The driving force of such ventures is social value creation. This new textbook aims to provide a comprehensive, cutting edge resource for students, introducing them to the unique concerns and challenges that face social ventures through a comparison with the principles of traditional entrepreneurship. The book consists of fourteen chapters covering all aspects of venture creation and management—from writing a business plan, to financing, people management, marketing, and social impact measurement. Social Entrepreneurship uses real-life examples and sources to expose students to contemporary developments in the field, encouraging them to think critically about the issues faced by social ventures across the globe, and experiential exercises and assignments are included to provide students with hands-on experience in creating and managing their own social ventures. Also containing review and application questions, illustrative cases, definitions of key terms, and a comprehensive companion website, Social Entrepreneurship is the essential guide to this rapidly emerging field. Visit the companion website at www.routledge.com/cw/beugre to find: For Instructors PowerPoint slides Multiple-choice questions For Students Extra illustrative cases Web links Links to video

Over the past few years social entrepreneurship has grown as a research field. In this 3rd volume in the series, contributions explore questions of values in social entrepreneurship as well as the identification and exploitation of social venturing opportunities.

Research on social entrepreneurship is finally catching up to its rapidly growing potential. In The Search for Social Entrepreneurship, Paul Light explores this surge of interest to establish the state of knowledge on this growing phenomenon and suggest directions for future research. Light begins by outlining the debate on how to define social entrepreneurship, a concept often cited and lauded but not necessarily understood. A very elemental definition would note that it involves individuals, groups, networks, or organizations seeking sustainable change via new ideas on how governments, nonprofits, and businesses can address significant social problems. That leaves plenty of gaps, however, and without adequate agreement on what the term means, we cannot measure it effectively. The unsatisfying results are apple-to-orange comparisons that make replication and further research difficult. The subsequent section examines the four main components of social entrepreneurship: ideas, opportunities, organizations, and the entrepreneurs themselves. The copious information available about each has yet to be mined for lessons on making social entrepreneurship a success. The third section draws on Light's original survey research on 131 high-performing nonprofits, exploring how they differ across the four key components. The fourth and final section offers recommendations for future action and research in this burgeoning field.