Title: Modelling the social business venture - an ontology-based approach

Authors: Samiksha Todaria; Carlos Azevedo; João José Pinto Ferreira

Addresses: INESC TEC, Campus da Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal ' IES-Social Business School, Rua do Colégio No. 5 – 2750-323, Cascais, Portugal ' Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, FEUP Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto, INESC TEC – INESC Technology and Science, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n 4200-465 Porto, Portugal

Abstract: The key contribution of this paper is the proposal of a novel conceptual model for the social business value proposition. This research was about making sense out of the body of knowledge underlying social business concepts and perspectives, stemming from the social entrepreneurship literature, and building on the so-called business model ontology that underlies the widely used business model canvas. The developed constructs were built in the scope of a design science approach to research, supported by an assessment process that involved several steps comprising the interaction with well-known academicians and practitioners in the area of social business, culminating with a case-study for final validation and assessment. Interviews with the experts from the field helped in the iterative development process of the ontology and its assessment, further supported by informed arguments and a continuous review of the literature.

Keywords: innovation; business models; ontology; theory of change; ToC; social businesses; social entrepreneurship; business model canvas; BMC; design science; value proposition; stakeholder interface; resources.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIL.2020.109840

International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 2020 Vol.28 No.3, pp.317 - 355

Received: 26 Mar 2019
Accepted: 21 Aug 2019

Published online: 28 Sep 2020 *

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