Reimagining the Social Enterprise Through Grassroots Social Innovations in India

Grassroots innovation and social innovation in perspective

“…Ten scientific papers were found with the combination of concepts of social innovation and grassroots innovations (section methodology, section A). The most commonly used terms in the search for social innovation and grassroots innovation were: grassroots innovation ( Roysen and Mertens, 2019 ; Duarte Alonso et al, 2020 ; Jones et al, 2021 ; Molina-Betancur et al, 2021 ), grassroots social innovation ( Banerjee and Shahan, 2019 ; Signori and Forno, 2019 ), grassroots social business ( Colovic and Schruoffeneger, 2021 ), and finally, social entrepreneurship and grassroots innovation ( van Lunenburg et al, 2020 ). A graphical representation of this category is presented in Table 2 .…”

“…Although this paper combines the two main concepts of this review, and provides an introduction to both concepts and frameworks, it does not offer any specific definition for grassroots social innovation niches introduced in the paper. Second, Banerjee and Shahan (2019) also made use of the concept grassroots social innovation, however, no definition of this concept was offered. In this paper, the theoretical framework of community-entrepreneurship was used, introducing the “community-preneurship” term.…”

“…In this paper, the theoretical framework of community-entrepreneurship was used, introducing the “community-preneurship” term. Banerjee and Shahan (2019 : 127) used the term for the context of the global south. These scholars combine the two perspectives of social innovation (new business practices) and grassroots innovation (community innovation), but offer a contested concept applied to the global south, which has a contextualised aspect.…”

“…When analysing the dimension of actors considered in the papers included in this review, a diversity of actors was found by the combination of grassroots innovation and social innovation. The main actors identified are, for example, community entrepreneurship and social enterprises ( Banerjee and Shahan, 2019 ), grassroots organisations ( Zajda et al, 2020 ; Jones et al, 2021 ), NGOs, arts centre managers, consumers, but also the community actors for the appropriation of public space ( Molina-Betancur et al, 2021 ).…”

The significance of grassroots and inclusive innovation in harnessing social entrepreneurship and urban regeneration

“…Grassroots innovation also comprises networks and movements of practitioners, activists and academics seeking to examine alternative approaches/processes for innovation and knowledge creation (Fressoli et al, 2014). By seeking and understanding these alternatives, local ingenuity can be harnessed in ways that purposefully contribute to improved local development; consequently, grassroots innovation is a mechanism which fosters inclusion (Fressoli et al, 2014), helping to elicit the struggles, aspirations and views of local communities (Banerjee and Shaban, 2019). Moreover, grassroots innovation can take the form of service provisions for marginalised groups, while promoting participation in technology design (Fressoli et al, 2014).…”