Title: Social innovation and social business: investigation of the business model of the Brazilian housing program 'my house, my life'

Authors: Bruno Silva Quirino; Rivadávia Corrêa Drummond Alvarenga Neto; Rodrigo Baroni De Carvalho

Addresses: Regional Superintendence of the West-Center of Minas Gerais, Caixa Econômica Federal, Avenida Antônio Olímpio de Morais 338, 35500005, Divinópolis, MG, Brazil ' Department of Management & Entrepreneurship, W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University (ASU), 300 E. Lemon Street BA 352A, P.O. Box 873406, 85287-3406, Tempe, AZ, USA ' Master and Doctoral Program of Business Administration (PPGA), Department of Business Administration, Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (PUCMinas), Avenida Itaú 525, 30535012, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil

Abstract: The goal of this paper is to analyse the Brazilian Government Housing Program "My House, My Life" from the perspectives of social innovation and social business. Twelve in-depth interviews were performed with the housing Program's stakeholders. The following categories of analysis were defined: i) concept, legislation, metrics, and results of the program; ii) program business model; iii) financial profit equation and social profit equation. Although fulfilling the requirements of a social innovation initiative and offering large and significant social benefits, the Program cannot be characterised as a social business due to the need of constant Federal Government funding , and also because of the fact that its target group is treated as the program's beneficiary and not as a customer. The paper categorises the Brazilian housing program into social innovation schemas and discusses the suitability of these theoretical classifications in the praxis of a large developing country.

Keywords: social innovation; business model; social business model; program my house my life (Minha Casa Minha Vida); housing industry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISD.2020.110498

International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 2020 Vol.14 No.4, pp.424 - 444

Accepted: 01 Mar 2019
Published online: 22 Oct 2020 *

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