Indigenous Communities and Social Enterprise in Canada: Incorporating Culture as an Essential Ingredient of Entrepreneurship

Abstract

This article seeks to understand Indigenous social enterprise in a “current state snapshot” and in a complex historical context. Specifically, the authors begin by placing into theoretical context social enterprises serving Indigenous communities. The framework for Indigenous social enterprise is related to theories of Indigenous entrepreneurship and “quadruple bottom line” organizations. The authors explain the role of culture as an under-researched element and as a critical component of Indigenous social enterprise. The article also highlights gender leadership of social enterprise in Indigenous communities. Finally, the article provides three case studies that exemplify Indigenous social enterprise in Canada. Dans cet article, les auteurs cherchent à comprendre les entreprises sociales autochtones dans leur état actuel ainsi que dans la complexité de leur contexte historique. Plus précisément, les auteurs commencent leur article en situant dans un contexte théorique particulier les entreprises sociales desservant les communautés autochtones. Le cadre utilisé pour décrire ces entreprises a des liens avec des théories sur l’entreprenariat autochtone et sur les organisations à quadruple résultat. Ensuite, les auteurs représentent la culture comme étant à la fois un élément insuffisamment étudié et une composante critique de l’entreprise sociale dans un milieu autochtone. D’autre part, ils rendent compte de la prédominance des leaders féminins dans ces entreprises. Finalement, ils présentent trois études de cas illustrant l’entreprise sociale autochtone au Canada.

Informing Canadian Innovation Policy Through a Decolonizing Lens on Indigenous Entrepreneurship and Innovation

“…Hindle and Lansdowne (2005) defined Indigenous entrepreneurship broadly as the "creation, management and development of new ventures by Indigenous people for the benefit of Indigenous people" (p. 132). Authors agree that Indigenous entrepreneurship should include components of Indigenous culture, feature interactions with the entrepreneurs' cultural community, and entail a wide range of benefits that go beyond individual economic profits (Colbourne, 2017;Peredo & Chrisman, 2006;Sengupta et al, 2015). Those benefits typically include social, political, cultural, and economic advantages for the entire community (Colbourne, 2017;Peredo & Chrisman, 2006).…”

“…Those benefits typically include social, political, cultural, and economic advantages for the entire community (Colbourne, 2017;Peredo & Chrisman, 2006). Scholars also describe enhanced social relationships and emerging interdependencies in the community, new cultural and spiritual understandings, and a resurgence of beliefs and practices embedded in a traditional territory or land (Anderson et al, 2006;Colbourne, 2017;Sengupta et al, 2015). Following this logic, traditional hunting and fishing activities can be considered a form of Indigenous entrepreneurship if those help to reinforce cultural and spiritual connections and strengthen the livelihood of a community.…”

“…Indigenous innovation often denotes healing and recovery from the colonial past. Sengupta et al (2015) suggested that Indigenous innovation can be understood as creating shifts in power dynamics between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, thus serving as a form of decolonization. Indigenous innovation differs conceptually from the mainstream understanding of innovation, which is seen as the commercialization of products and services.…”

Reconciling Institutional Logics Within First Nations Forestry-Based Social Enterprises

“…Yet the paucity of studies in relation to First Nations social enterprises raises questions about whether such institutional configurations have been able to reinforce Indigenous logics, or simply emulate commercial ones. Sengupta et al (2015) contend that the distinguishing feature between Indigenous social enterprises and non-Indigenous ones is the role of culture, and there is often an assumption that because Indigenous businesses are for the most part band (collectively)-owned, rather than individually owned, they will operate for the benefit of the community. For example, Anderson et al (2006) argue that Indigenous entrepreneurship is inherently "social" because it includes economic self-sufficiency, protecting land ownership and use, strengthening economic circumstances, and revitalizing traditional culture.…”

“…Influences at the local level are particularly attuned to culturally legitimate forms of governance over extractive and productive processes (Nikolakis et al, 2019). Yet many such examples, which are often characterized as social enterprises or "hybrid" economic models within First Nations communities (Anderson et al, 2005), are typically forced to justify their activities in reference to financial viability or market standards only (see, Curry et al, 2016;Sengupta et al, 2015;Wallace, 1999). The result is that many First Nations organizations and enterprises must continually respond to multiple institutional demands, often resulting in operational, organizational, and motivational uncertainty.…”