Benjamin Huybrechts

Social Entrepreneurship: Definitions, Drivers and Challenges

Despite widespread acknowledgement that social entrepreneurship and social enterprise remain highly contextual –and, therefore, contestable– notions which can be interpreted in various ways depending on the ideology and the goals of the institutions championing them (Dart 2004; Dey & Steyaert 2010; Nicholls 2010c), there are common features upon which most scholars and commentators can agree. This chapter aims to capture the essence of what social entrepreneurship is and also of what it is not. The chapter is structured as follows. The following section examines the concept of social entrepreneurship and reviews a number of definitions in order to highlight common features. Then, social entrepreneurship is compared with, and differentiated from, related –but distinctive– concepts. After this, the fourth section looks at the origins and drivers of social entrepreneurship in an historical perspective. Finally, this chapter concludes by suggesting a number of challenges for practice, policy and research in this field.

Connecting the Dots for Social Value: A Review on Social Networks and Social Entrepreneurship

Abstract The emergence of social entrepreneurship has been explained at the macro-level (socioeconomic drivers), at the meso-level (concepts such as opportunity), and at the micro-level (motivations and intentions of social entrepreneurs). In this conceptual article, it is argued that the sociology of social networks may contribute to explain how and why social entrepreneurship arises by bridging micro- and macro-levels of analysis. Four different usages of the social network concept in the social entrepreneurship literature are identified: embeddedness of social entrepreneurship, collective social entrepreneurship, networking as a critical skill or activity of social entrepreneurship, and finally networking and the creation of social capital as a goal of social entrepreneurship. Theoretical frameworks explaining the emergence of conventional entrepreneurship with a social network lens are identified. These are evaluated with regard to social entrepreneurship and translated into a set of research proposals to be explored in order to strengthen our understanding of social entrepreneurship emergence.

The Role of Legitimacy in Social Enterprise-Corporate Collaboration

Purpose - This article explores the role of organizational legitimacy in understanding the emergence and development of ‘cross-sector collaboration’ between social enterprises and corporations. Design/methodology/approach - An in-depth case study of a long-standing but fragile partnership between a UK-based Fair Trade social enterprise and a large corporate retailer provides exploratory findings on the role of legitimacy at different stages of the collaboration process. Findings - The findings highlight how pragmatic and moral legitimacy are mobilized by the social enterprise to justify collaboration throughout three major stages: (1) the very decision of cross-sector collaboration, (2) the choice of the partner and the framing of the partnership, and (3) the evolution of the collaboration. Research limitations/implications - While Fair Trade is not the only sector in which social enterprise-corporate partnerships take place, it has been a pioneering domain revealing the potential as well as the challenges of such partnerships. Taking into account the role of legitimacy throughout the collaborative process is crucial both for comprehensive research and for informed practice. Originality/value - Although it is documented by a single case study, this paper opens new research avenues to examine social enterprise-corporate collaborations by developing a ‘non-functionalist’ view of such collaborations and showing the importance of legitimacy in understanding why and how they emerge, develop and sometimes fail.

Emergent identity formation and the co-operative: theory building in relation to alternative organizational forms

Abstract How are identities of alternative forms of organization constructed and how does this process differ relative to normative forms socially expected? In this research, we consider identity formation in co-operatives, a population of organizations allied globally through values and practices such as democratic participation, voluntary and open membership, and limited return to capital investment. As an extension of current thinking on identity formation in entrepreneurship and organizational theory, we use co-operatives to explore social expectations and institutional arrangements around form at the societal, population and organizational levels using a population ecology framework. We develop a research agenda based on propositions that address specific features of identity formation in less typical forms of organization, including tensions with normative business expectations, engagement with identity audiences, embeddedness in networks and alliances, structural factors influencing identity, and identity ambiguity.

Where do hybrids come from? Entrepreneurial team heterogeneity as an avenue for the emergence of hybrid organizations

This conceptual article aims to respond to the poorly addressed question of the emergence of hybrid organizations; that is, organizations that embrace several institutional logics. It does so by developing a model and a set of propositions focusing on the heterogeneity of the entrepreneurial team as a possible driver for hybridity throughout the entrepreneurial process and up to the emergence of a hybrid organization. Contributing to the literatures on (collective) entrepreneurship, imprinting and hybrid organizations, we advance several avenues and conditions under which the heterogeneity of the entrepreneurial team may imprint the entrepreneurial process and lead to the creation of hybrid organizations. Our propositions connect the individual, team and organizational levels and thus, advance our understanding of how institutional logics can be combined across different levels of analysis and throughout the stages of an entrepreneurial process.

Connecting producers and consumers through fair and sustainable value chains

Purpose – This paper seeks to pinpoint the role played by social enterprises in the growth and mainstreaming of fair trade.Design/methodology/approach – The review encompasses seminal papers on the growth and mainstreaming of fair trade.Findings – A crucial role is played by social enterprises in establishing fair trade in the mainstream. However this mainstreaming is contested and is argued by some to also lead to potential mission drift.Research limitations/implications – This review primarily investigates the Northern aspects of fair trade, in particular the role of social enterprise in the market growth of fair trade and its mainstreaming. However more research is required to unpack the producer perspectives of mainstreaming fair trade.Practical implications – The article investigates one of the pioneering fields of social enterprise to see what lessons can be drawn for other social enterprise sectors that have mainstream ambitions.Originality/value – This contribution provides a novel review to demon...

From Distant Neighbours to Bedmates: Exploring the Synergies between the Social Economy and Sustainable Development

To introduce this special issue we explore the conceptual and practical synergies between the social economy and sustainable development. New empirical evidence is presented on the emergence of these two research fields and the increasing combination of these fields in the literature. Several avenues through which social enterprises can contribute to the transition towards sustainable development are then identified. This is followed by a discussion of how and why the combination can be particularly fruitful both for the social economy and for sustainability transition movements. We also highlight some important challenges facing the social economy with regard to its contribution to sustainable development. Finally we introduce the papers that constitute this special issue and show how they contribute, individually and collectively, to a better understanding of the increasing linkage between the social economy and sustainable development.

Sacred Alliance or Pact with the Devil? How and Why Social Enterprises Collaborate with Mainstream Businesses in the Fair Trade Sector

Abstract This paper uses institutional theory to highlight different patterns of cross-sector collaboration from the perspective of social enterprises. Specifically, it explores how and why social enterprises interact with mainstream businesses and to what extent their collaboration patterns reflect a vision of how their social mission should be implemented and institutionalized. The empirical analysis is derived from a qualitative study of ‘fair trade’ – a hybrid model created by social enterprises and using market mechanisms to support small-scale producers in developing countries and to advocate for changes in international trading practices. The findings highlight three strategies used by fair trade social enterprises to manage their interactions with mainstream businesses: sector solidarity, selective engagement, and active appropriation. This paper suggests that each strategy is motivated by a different vision of how best to articulate the social mission of fair trade via specific types of collaborations. It also notes how each vision has a distinct pattern of institutionalization at the field level. This paper adds to the emergent literatures on social enterprise and social entrepreneurship, fair trade, cross-sector collaboration and hybrid organizing.

Fair Trade and Social Enterprise

Benjamin Huybrechts Introduction The organizational landscape of fair trade has evolved towards increasing complexity and diversity, even when only taking into account organizations that have a central focus on importing and retailing fairly traded products (Becchetti and Huybrechts 2008; Gendron, Bisaillon and Rance 2009; Huybrechts 2012). Hence, ambiguities may occur when delineating and naming these organizations. Moreover, focusing on ‘fair trade’ as the defining characteristic of ‘fair trade organizations’ shifts the attention away from how these organizations are structured and from the many similarities they share with other organizations outside the fair trade sector. This chapter suggests that the notion of ‘social enterprise’ is useful to capture the DNA of organizations focused on fair trade and to locate them within a broader organizational taxonomy. Without seeking to impose a new term that may not resonate for certain actors or regions, this chapter aims to bring two contributions to fair trade research and practice. First, it is suggested that the social enterprise approach is particularly useful as an analytical tool enabling researchers and other stakeholders to capture the evolution and diversification of organizational models in fair trade. Second, the use of a broader organizational approach that is not specific to the sole fair trade sector allows for connections with similar organizations in other sectors and brings a shift from considering mainly what the organizations do (fair trade in this case) towards also addressing what they are (innovative social enterprise

The Roles of Networks in Institutionalizing New Hybrid Organizational Forms: Insights from the European Renewable Energy Cooperative Network

Hybrid organizational forms combine values and practices from different institutional domains, rendering them difficult to fit neatly into the structures of extant organizational forms. Since the work required to institutionalize a new hybrid organizational form may be beyond the resources and capabilities of individual organizations acting alone, we shift the focus to inter-organizational collective action. Using empirical data from a study of a European network of renewable energy cooperatives, we find that, in order to institutionalize the new hybrid organizational form, the network can contribute to overcome the legitimacy challenges inherent in organizational hybridity. In particular, the network builds field-level receptivity to institutional pluralism, collectively codifies the hybrid organizational form, and consolidates legitimation towards plural field-level audiences. In order to perform these institutionalization roles, the network itself becomes increasingly formalized and mobilizes mediating...