Social entrepreneurship in context: pathways for new contributions in the field

Abstract

In this Special Issue, we hope to reframe the conversation about context and bring back context to the front and centre of our way of knowing and theorizing in the field of social entrepreneurship. We philosophize about context and then propose a typology of context in the field of social entrepreneurship (broadly defined) and identify domains of context that constitute existing and fertile areas for future research. We reflect on the six papers in this special issue in relation to our context typology and conclude with several points about their novel contributions to theory, practice and policy in social entrepreneurship.

The Essence of Social Entrepreneurship through a Georgian Lens: Social Entrepreneurs’ Perspectives

“…The research contributes to the investigation of social entrepreneurship in Georgia, as previous studies have suggested exploring the phenomenon in different countries, contexts, and economies (e.g., Cagarman et al 2020;Chandra and Kerlin 2020). It also provides insight and a better understanding of social entrepreneurship as an important research field and as a discipline (Cieslik 2018;Mair and Martí 2006).…”

“…A country context plays a central role in the research of social entrepreneurship, but the literature deals mainly with the North American, Asian, and European countries relating to social entrepreneurial theory, practice, data, and perspectives (Li 2019;Chandra and Kerlin 2020;Li et al 2020). Therefore, conducting a study in different contexts is significant for the discipline.…”

Nonprofit contracting and partnership in elderly care: a comparison between china and the Netherlands

“…Context matters for the specific manifestation of managerial practices of nonprofits (cf. Chandra & Kerlin, 2020), but the fundamental public management drivers of these practices (Brown & Potoski, 2004;Eikenberry & Kluver, 2004;Van Slyke, 2006;Jing, 2018) are strikingly universal across the very different contexts of China and the Netherlands.…”

“…Contexts can be characterized in terms of their political-administrative system, such as: concentration of power, administrative capacity, or level of (de)centralization (Meier, Rutherford & Avellaneda, 2017;Pollitt & Bouckaert, 2017). Contexts in the field of social entrepreneurship include characteristics of culture (e.g., religiosity and tradition), socio-economic characteristics, and domain-specific characteristics (Chandra & Kerlin, 2020).…”

“…Competitive contracting and partnerships between governments and nonprofits have been extensively studied in the field of public management-primarily in US and European contexts. Chandra and Kerlin (2020) contend that the majority of published social entrepreneurship research has a North American or European orientation.…”