Social entrepreneurship is a concept that has significant benefits for society. To shape the appropriate conditions for the development of this generally beneficial phenomenon, we need to ask what motivates entrepreneurs to give priority to social entrepreneurship over commercial entrepreneurship. Although several studies

Purpose Drawing on Weick’s sensemaking perspective, this study aims to describe how Czech social entrepreneurs shape the shared meaning of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and what approaches to the crisis the sensemaking process leads to. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on the principles of grounded theory. Through in-depth interviews with 25 social entrepreneurs, it captures the entrepreneurs’ experience of the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of their understanding of social enterprise identity. Interviews with experts in the field of social entrepreneurship were also conducted to help achieve a deeper analysis of the entrepreneurial cases. Findings Results of research show that despite the obstacles, most social entrepreneurs arrive at a positive redescription of the crisis. Enterprises not affected by the pandemic adopt a conventional approach. The most vulnerable enterprises are paralyzed and wait with uncertainty for future developments in their enterprise’s situation. Practical implications As knowledge of vulnerabilities is a key prerequisite for crisis prevention, this research can serve as a useful material for business incubators and other institutions that provide mentoring and expertise to start-up social entrepreneurs including focus on crisis management implementation. Originality/value This study complements the theory of crisis sensemaking with the level of social entrepreneurship, which is characterized by a dichotomy of social and business goals that results in a specific shared meaning of identity which is tied to perceptions of vulnerabilities. This study describes the influence of perceived identity on coping with a crisis.

With the increasing challenges our society faces, ranging from environmental issues to the current coronavirus crisis, interest in a new way of investing, known as impact investing, has also been increasing. In addition, recently, an even more conscious way of investing, known as integral investing, has appeared. In this article, the concepts of impact investing and integral investing are described and compared and their positive impacts on society are documented. The importance of people and leaders with corresponding ethics, morals, and personal values for the success of the investments is explained. As both impact and integral investing have the potential to meet the challenges of present-day society and to contribute to its further sustainable development, they should be addressed in academic research and higher education. Therefore, this article seeks to answer the question of whether these concepts are reflected in academia. To answer this question, a bibliometric analysis was conducted. The findings show that there is a modest but growing academic interest in impact investing and very little interest in integral investing. Reasons to take these topics into account in research and education are discussed in the final part of the article.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a conscious leadership competency framework to be used in business training as well as in managerial study programs. Design/methodology/approach First, using literature review, the current state of knowledge in conscious leadership competency frameworks was examined. Subsequently, a framework analysis on a specific topical book was conducted to find competencies that determine a conscious leader. The output of this analysis was compared with a comprehensive leadership competency framework to propose a conscious leadership competency framework. This conscious leadership competency framework was then verified in interviews with conscious leaders. Findings Until now, a conscious leadership competency framework has not been proposed. Yet, there are competencies specific to conscious leaders that are not included in existing leadership competency frameworks. A new conscious leadership competency framework including possible ways of how to train and develop the conscious leadership competencies is suggested for future discussion. Research limitations/implications Research limitations are discussed in this paper. More research in this area and further development of the conscious leadership competency framework are suggested. Practical implications The proposed conscious leadership competency framework can be further discussed and developed, therefore becoming an effective tool for companies as well as educational institutions. Social implications More consciousness in leadership will help tackle many current societal challenges. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the proposed conscious leadership competency framework is the first of its kind.

The theory of enterprise financial management offers number of methods used in practice which serve as basis for investment decision making and as a mode of feedback on its effectivity and impacts. Most of these methods are appropriate mainly for enterprise financial management whose main objective is market value maximisation or profit maximisation. But important elements of present-day economy are also enterprises pursuing a higher objective than profit. In European Union countries this role is played particularly by social enterprises in the form of profit-making or non-profitmaking organizations which quite often obtain public-budget-based support. Undoubtedly, social enterprise as a whole may be viewed as so-called social investment. Measuring of real impact of this type of investment is important not only for social entrepreneurs but also for public authorities or bodies and it requires application of different methods. Research objective of this article is to propose a set of methods which can be used to measure social enterprise contribution effectively and comprehensively by social entrepreneurs or public authorities.