Social Problems as Sources of Opportunity: Antecedents of Social Entrepreneurship Opportunities

Abstract

A B S T R A C T Objective:Based on extensive literature review, this paper aims to establish if, why and how, in given environmental and market contexts, social entrepreneurship (SE) opportunities are discovered and exploited. It positions social problems as sources of entrepreneurial opportunity. The article presents an integrated process-based view of SE opportunity antecedents and concludes with a dynamic model of SE opportunity. Research Design & Methods:To fulfil its goal, the paper establishes opportunity as unit of research and explores the dynamics of opportunity recognition. To identify the components of SE opportunity through a process-based view, the study follows the steps of critical literature review method. The literature review follows with logical reasoning and inference, which results in the formulation of a model proposition of social entrepreneurship opportunity.

Entrepreneurial Intentions of Business and Economics Students in Germany and Cyprus: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

“…The evolution of the concept of lead users [48] shows that the focus has shifted from a pure technological approach to the interpretation of technology in a social context [76]. Entrepreneurship can also be relevant for discovering a profit opportunity by offering a solution to a socially relevant problem [29]. This latter point has been observed by the authors in their field research consisting of case studies from Northern Cyprus and East Germany [77].…”

“…This structural similarity of innovation driven economies challenges start-ups to find new and accessible ways for shaping new markets. In innovation driven economies, the focus is more on business sophistication and global strategies, where product differentiation plays an important role; therefore, a new or growing firm has to offer a completely new product for exploiting market gaps [20], or a service (e.g., in the form of a solution offered to a social problem) [29].…”

“…In addition to the original meaning, the lead user is interpreted by the authors in the sense of a social lead user, whose social vision is beyond the existing market for providing solutions to social problems [49]. The latter observation goes back to [29], who identified social entrepreneurship as a result of discovering opportunities to solve a social problem. For identifying social lead users, awareness of social problems in the surroundings and social innovation as a solution mechanism instead of the expectancy for state intervention [49].…”

Sustainable Entrepreneurship: Innovation-Related Activities in European Enterprises

“…In this context, new terms have emerged, such as green entrepreneurship, environmental entrepreneurship, or ecopreneuring, as well as social entrepreneurship [9][10][11]. While social entrepreneurship usually considers the double bottom line of social and economic value [12][13][14][15], ecopreneurship refers to ecological and economic goals [4,16]. Despite some similarities between green entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, and sustainable entrepreneurship, there are also some differences between the two concepts regarding (1) the multiplicity of goals, (2) the notion of equity, and (3) the type of organization involved [7].…”

Encompassing the Work-Life Balance into Early Career Decision-Making of Future Employees Through the Analytic Hierarchy Process

“…QoL research in Economics has gained momentum in past decades with works of such researchers as Maslow [9], Graafland & Compen [10] (life satisfaction), AbelSmith & Townsend [11] (distribution of welfare), Atkinson [12,13] (social inequality), Sen [14][15][16][17][18] (welfare, wellbeing and socio-economic capabilities), Schuessler and Fisher [19] (QoL theory), Layard [20] [31], Gawlik & Jacobsen [32] (work-life balance), Żur [33], Neumark & Muz [34] (entrepreneurship and social inequality) Somarriba Arechavala, Zarzosa Espina & Pena Trapero [35] (QoL measurement) and others.…”