Title: A social enterprise business model for social entrepreneurs: theoretical foundations and model development

Authors: In Lee

Addresses: School of Computer Sciences, College of Business and Technology, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL 61455, USA

Abstract: Social enterprise is drawing increased attention from the entrepreneurship and marketing area. While there have been a significant number of studies in the management and operational side of social enterprise, no overarching theoretical framework of the business model exists for social enterprise. The current theoretical framework of the business model in the strategic management area does not adequately take into consideration the unique characteristics of social enterprise and the context within which they must operate. By applying theoretical foundations in the strategic management, this paper fills the current research gap and develops a social enterprise business model. Finally, management guidelines of the social enterprise business model are discussed for social entrepreneurs.

Keywords: social enterprise; business models; social entrepreneurs; social mission; social entrepreneurship; strategic management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSEI.2015.069351

International Journal of Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 2015 Vol.3 No.4, pp.269 - 301

Received: 19 Nov 2014
Accepted: 12 Dec 2014

Published online: 13 May 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article