Social Enterprise

Social enterprises (SE) emerge where there are opportunities to find new ways to balance otherwise competing interests and to achieve social purposes in ways that are better than and distinct from traditional approaches. Understanding whether the zoo and its elements are achieving these purposes, making progress, or causing harm is complicated and difficult. The challenges begin with assessing essential things that cannot be measured easily or well. They continue with how SE simultaneously has social impact at so many levels: individual, organizational, communal, within and among parts of the zoo, and society as a whole. They are exacerbated by the need to account for gains in one social impact area possibly being accompanied by harm in another. Of course, being complicated or challenging or even presently unprovable is no excuse for not trying. In that spirit this chapter approaches assessing the social impact of SE, its potential, and its distinguishing character at three key leve...

This study aims to establish the impact M&E can have on social enterprise performance in Nairobi County. The study was informed by the resource dependency theory. The study used a descriptive research design. This study targeted a total population of 132 social enterprises located in Nairobi County and employed the simple random sampling technique to achieve a representative sample of 103 social enterprises. The study used questionnaires to collect data from respondents. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was employed to generate insights on the problem under consideration. The study revealed that use M&E frameworks provide a bigger picture on the building blocks required driving the social enterprise's strategy and the pathway to achieve the desired results. The study recommended that it is critical for social enterprises to train the top leadership on M&E and allocate funds for training of staff in M &E process. Finally, social enterprises need to ensure that there is the dissemination of information to demonstrate accountability and earn client loyalty

This paper considers the opportunities for effective humanitarian collaboration in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). It brings together perspectives from three individuals with extensive lived experience working in the DPRK. Collectively, these authors have worked in various sectors of international humanitarian aid and other areas of engagement such as emergency response and preparedness, education, social enterprise and tourism. The paper draws from these experiences to present lessons on overcoming obstacles and harnessing opportunities in the DPRK.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how extending social innovation and impact learning to the field was accomplished. Design/methodology/approach -The paper discusses how experiential learning can be adapted to social entrepreneurship education and how to structure the course and deliverables. It highlights the importance of students' selection and preparation. Findings -The paper shares some students' reflections on their fieldwork and how they dealt with new ideas. It also provides three central lessons -"go real", "go deep", "get feedback" -that were learned through the experience. Research limitations/implications -Since information from only one course offering has been reported, a simple generalization should be made cautiously. For this reason, the transferability of this experiential learning course to other regions of the world is discussed and recommendations are offered for educators who want to engage in a successful "boundary-less classroom." Originality/value -Initial evidence is provided that the success of experiential learning in social innovation and impact can be guaranteed by a number of elements, including students' preparation to assist them as they confront challenges found in the field experience. Experiential learning would not be transferable without deep intercultural understanding and a well-chosen selection of social enterprises and social entrepreneurs with whom to collaborate.

Social enterprises are non-profit organizations that seek to achieve social goals through commercial activity. Because they have both social and commercial objectives, social enterprises are confronted with high levels of complexity in their strategizing and operations; not only do they have to generate sufficient revenue to re-invest in their business operations, they also have to maintain investment in social projects in their community. Under conditions of resource scarcity, this poses severe challenges which can threaten the long-term sustainability of the enterprise. In this paper the tension between allocating resources to commercial activity and social action is explored. A simple causal-loop diagram is constructed which maps out the relationships between resource allocation and a number of other variables thought to influence the sustainability of social enterprises. By tracing through the diagram, a range of generic strategic alternatives available to social enterprises is evaluated and discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In an attempt to pursue the development of theory in the field of social entrepreneurship, the purpose of this paper is to present the development and assessment of a typology of Canadian social enterprises. The three major dimensions of the typology are: (a) extent of financial self sufficiency, (b) extent of innovation, and (c) extent of social transformation. Social enterprises were deemed to be either high or low in their degree of each dimension. The paper finds support for the typology and these dimensions from both the literature as well as from empirical research undertaken and described in the paper.

Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.

The social cooperative is the opportunity for social and professional reintegration of people threatened with social exclusion:
Reintegration tool; The objectives of the social cooperative; The threefold nature of the social cooperative; Is it worth it to assume social co-operatives?

As social entrepreneurship gains increasing acclaim and institutional support, there is a need for greater critical assessment of its practices and effects, including how it relates to current concerns about meaningful work. Our critical analysis of popular autobiographies of social entrepreneurs provides insight into how marketization forces are shaping the construction of meaningful work within the US nonprofit context. Our findings illustrate that although popular portrayals of social entrepreneurship offer a compelling vision of meaningful work centred on solving pressing social problems, they also celebrate a troubling account of work/life balance centred on self-sacrifice, underpaid and unpaid labour and the privileging of organizational commitment at the expense of health, family and other aspects of social reproduction. In focusing critical attention on popular autobiographies, our analysis contributes to ongoing efforts to understand how popular culture assists in reproducing problematic assumptions about work and professional life.

Purpose As a critical and intimate form of inquiry, ethnography remains close to lived realities and equips scholars with a unique methodological angle on social phenomena. This paper aims to explore the potential gains from an increased use of ethnography in social enterprise studies. Design/methodology/approach The authors develop the argument through a set of dualistic themes, namely, the socio-economic dichotomy and the discourse/practice divide as predominant critical lenses through which social enterprise is currently examined, and suggest shifts from visible leaders to invisible collectives and from case study-based monologues to dialogic ethnography. Findings Ethnography sheds new light on at least four neglected aspects. Studying social enterprises ethnographically complicates simple reductions to socio-economic tensions, by enriching the set of differences through which practitioners make sense of their work-world. Ethnography provides a tool for unravelling how practition...

People with intellectual disabilities have existed throughout our world across human history and make up a part of all cultures, they represent a small section of the extremely wide variety of people in the human population at any one time yet they are still the most discriminated and stigmatised section of our society and are often the last within the community of disabled persons to receive attention (Paramenter, 2011).

Research has shown us that people with intellectual disabilities are ‘able to’ and ‘want to’ work but cannot because of the barriers that they face.

There has been a lot of emphasis in the recent years on the value of social enterprises in Ireland and their ability to be able to provide employment to individuals who are at a distance from the labour market. 

Using qualitative research methods, this study explores the potential for social enterprises to be able to support people with intellectual disabilities to overcome the barriers to employment that they experience. The research presents a sample of social enterprises in Ireland and Wales that are currently supporting people to overcome barriers to employment.

Findings from the literature and case studies have shown that that our thinking on employment for people regardless of their ability or disadvantage must extend beyond the traditional and conventional opportunities which to date been offered in the competitive market and which do not offer adequate accommodations and supports.

The research has demonstrated that social enterprises that have been designed specifically to support people with intellectual disabilities have more potential to support their employees to overcome the barriers to employment. The findings also warn of the dangers of establishing social enterprises which are nothing more than a modern version of the segregated sector of sheltered workshops and job enclaves.

This paper examines the strategies social enterprises can use to scale up their impact. A traditional view has been for growth to occur through setting up new sites owned by a single organisation. This paper examines the range of other alternatives for scaling up social impact ranging from maximising the impact internally (through new activities, and more sites) to growth beyond the confines of the organisation (through social franchises, use of kite marks, training and networks). The paper is based on an analysis of case studies in the early years sector supporting children and families. The following research questions will be addressed: In what ways can social enterprises scale up their operations? What are the challenges entailed in these scaling up processes? The paper concludes by proposing a model to help define the strategies by which organisations can scale up their social impact.

This effective study guide offers comprehensive coverage of topics comprising the enterprise architecture body of knowledge. The book provides detailed coverage and lays out actionable methodologies and best practices to create and maintain successful EA models, artifacts and building blocks. It helps prepare readers to take any of the various EA certification exams and academic courses in enterprise architecture.

This highly effective self-study guide offers comprehensive coverage of all topics in the enterprise architecture body of knowledge. Written by a team of experienced academics, practitioners, and professionals, the book takes a holistic look at the practice of enterprise architecture. You will get actionable methodologies and best practices and learn how to develop, deploy, and maintain successful enterprise architecture models, artifacts, and building blocks. Designed to help you prepare for certification, the Certified Enterprise Architect All-in-One Exam Guide also serves as an essential on-the-job reference.

Coverage includes:
•Enterprise architecture foundation concepts
•Planning the enterprise architecture
•Enterprise architecture development, governance, and maintenance
•Defense frameworks
•Viewpoints and views
•The Zachman Framework
•The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF)
•The Common Approach to Federal Enterprise Architecture
•FEAF2
•Comparison of frameworks
•Case Study integrated throughout the text
•And much more

The paper is mainly divided into three parts. The first part is devoted to understanding the Italian third sector, with particular reference to the principal organisational and legal forms that define it and to some quantitative relevant data. The second part is ...

Social entrepreneurship is relatively a new concept within social sciences. Like the case with any newly emerging field, social entrepreneurship is confronting the challenges of justifying the use of new constructs and hence the challenge of generating new knowledge and insights. Till date, the field of social entrepreneurship has majorly been consented as a multidisciplinary approach to social problem solving. In this regard, researchers are attempting to take insights from different disciplines in an effort towards delimiting the scope and context of social entrepreneurship. However, social entrepreneurship is projected or seen as sharing much in common with business management and entrepreneurship. As such, the different approaches of management domain find high appropriateness for application, explanation and further expansion of this field. In light of the above and on the basis of a few qualitative case studies conducted in the western countries till date, the paper attempts to gain critical insights about the use of marketing concepts in social enterprises.

This paper explores and clarifies the significance of aligning mission, objectives and strategy with impact measurement in social entrepreneurship. We present a framework for understanding the value created by social entrepreneurs, presenting theoretical and practical insights into impact measurement. Drawing on case studies in Latin America, we suggest the presence of a ‘mission measurement paradox’ that affects social entrepreneurs in their attempts to measure social impact and understand value creation. The paradox suggests that social entrepreneurs are failing to evaluate their social impact with sufficient regard to their social mission. Preconceptions resulting from the use of traditional management approaches in social enterprises are presented, with guidance on how these can be avoided by both researchers and practitioners.

A detailed and critical analysis of the multiple types of entrepreneurship, helping students to understand the practical skills and theoretical concepts needed to create their very own entrepreneurial venture.

Split into two parts, the book provides an even balance between theory and practice. Part 1 covers the practical activities involved in new entrepreneurial ventures, and Part 2 uses the latest research to explore entrepreneurship from different perspectives.

The Second Edition has a new author, Catherine Wang, and features a collection of practitioner boxes, student focus cases, and new international case studies, including Dyson, Facebook, Made.com, and examples of entrepreneurship in China and Ghana.

There are two new chapters on the Varieties of Entrepreneurship, including social entrepreneurship (not-for-profit) and Intrapreneurship (employees within organizations) and Entrepreneurial Learning, which explores how entrepreneurs hone and develop their thinking.

The book is complemented by a companion website featuring a range of tools and resources for instructors and students, including PowerPoint Slides, additional mini cases, seminar questions, guidance on new venture creation activities, test bank, SAGE journal articles, video links, revision tips, and an instructor’s manual.

Suitable reading for students taking modules in Entrepreneurship or New venture creation at upper undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

This article seeks to sustain the social entrepreneurial phenomenon by providing a theoretical and an empirical background of the way that a NPO can increase the level of efficiency and efficacy. Social entrepreneurship increasingly plays a major role in the progress of society in the same way that entrepreneurship promotes progress in the economy. Because NGOs are related to the

Education and research were the reasons for the advent of
Internet. Education always used the best fruits of web
socially and also economically. e-Learning especially the
personalized and customized learning triggered the
development of self-paced e-Learning models, which are
enormously beneficial for the students as they target
individual students rather than a group of students. It has
enormous market potential with the growing trend of click
schools. In the e-Learning market, Khan Academy is a
unique social enterprise which addresses education beyond
the boundary of curricula and moreover it is “Free”. It was
started by Salman Khan alone but it got a brilliant response
from the students. It has rapid and phenomenal expansion
plans including plans for virtual schools, breaking the
barriers of language to name a few. In this paper we will
discuss the self-paced e-Learning market size, the position
of Khan Academy in this market, the courses offered by it.
We will venture into Khan Academy’s market value
proposition and mention how this venture can be
sustainable.

This article seeks to create a basic understanding of social enterprises, outlines how they operate, identifies some of its examples, determines various benefits that can be obtained from a social enterprise, identifies various skills required to run it, with an intention of identifying the possible challenges that can affect their operations and various managerial skills required to illustrate how social managers can optimize or make use of these factors to attain sustainability within a social enterprise. It later on develops a conceptual framework to indicate how these various factors that challenge the functioning of a social enterprise are interrelated and their effects on social enterprise sustainability.

At the end of 2010 the British Museum unveiled the final artefact in their exhibition ‘A History of the World in 100 Objects’: a portable solar powered lamp designed for and sold to people living without access to mains electricity in Africa and Asia. Solar powered lights have become iconic objects of social entrepreneurship in Africa and Asia and this article explores the work involved in producing them as humanitarian goods. Following the 100th object from its conception in a Stanford University classroom to points of sale and use in rural India the article explores how it has been made to materialise both an ethic of care and an ethic of commercial interest. Drawing from traditions in the social study of technology and the conceptual vocabulary of Michel Callon the article argues that the significance of objects like the ultra affordable solar lamp lies in their capacity to make and define markets at the ‘bottom of the pyramid’.

This chapter considers the question: Can social enterprise bring about democracy, especially within the context of a governance environment? Governance is part of a neoliberal agenda to advocate for lower taxes, fewer social welfare subsidies, and more private, voluntary and market-based approaches to addressing social problems. Democracy is referred to here not only as participatory and deliberative, but also concerned with democratic or substantive outcomes. The chapter presents trends toward governance and the growth of social enterprise; critiques of this growth, especially in relation to its implications for participatory democracy; and arguments for democratizing social enterprise in response to these critiques. These arguments and the democratic potential of social enterprise are assessed in relation to democratic outcomes. The conclusion is that social enterprise may have the potential to enhance participatory or deliberative democracy, but it is limited in contributing to democratic outcomes in a governance environment.

Where a licence is displayed above, please note the terms and conditions of the licence govern your use of this document. When citing, please reference the published version. Take down policy While the University of Birmingham exercises care and attention in making items available there are rare occasions when an item has been uploaded in error or has been deemed to be commercially or otherwise sensitive.

There is increasing interest in the social entrepreneur and the process of social entrepreneurship. This has led to criticisms of fuzziness surrounding these concepts. This paper explores the concept of the social entrepreneur, considering whether social entrepreneurs can really be termed “entrepreneurs” or if they are something else - individuals motivated by meeting social objectives to achieve social change. Drawing on structuration theory, we place the agent (a social entrepreneur) in the structure (a social system/the context), arguing that they are engaged in a process of co-constructing the current momentum in social entrepreneurship development.

This chapter explores the distinctive characteristics of hybrid organizations; a new organizational form that expands our existing categories of organizations by bridging the for-profit and non-profit domains. In particular, we utilize a positive lens to explore the role of hybrids in creating positive social and environmental change on two levels. At the firm level, hybrid organizations develop new products that promote environmental and social well-being, and new practices for producing and bringing them to market. At the institutional level, hybrid organizations diffuse acceptance for their products and practices throughout their markets, competitors, and industry. To explain how hybrid organizations accomplish these objectives, we present a Sustainability-Driven Business Model that explains their social change agency. The theoretical model has three basic elements: 1) Social change as organizational objective; 2) Mutually-beneficial relationships with suppliers and supplier communities, employees, and customers; and 3) Progressive interaction with markets, competitors, and industry institutions. The chapter discusses the implications for theory and practice, and concludes with suggestions for future research.

Despite growing academic interest in social entrepreneurship, a critical challenge facing social ventures has yet to receive attention: how do social entrepreneurs communicate with their diverse groups of stakeholders? This topic is examined using an exploratory, partially-inductive study consisting of semi-structured interviews, ethnographic observation, and a critical review of the practitioner literature. The result is a framework explaining the role played by narratives and emotion in social entrepreneurship communication. The findings contribute to work on organizational narrative theory, new venture communication strategies, stakeholder evaluations of firms, and the marketing and entrepreneurship interface. Moreover, the study produces several practical implications for social entrepreneurs.

The comparative analysis of social enterprise (SE) models lacks strongly integrated theoretical foundations and empirical surveys that would allow for statistically testing typologies of SE models at the international level. This paper aims to address the lack of a scientifically robust typology of SE models by providing an analysis rooted in some of the strongest theoretical and analytical frameworks focusing on the third sector’s identity, allowing for a wide diversity of SE models within the third sector and beyond its frontiers. Our typology is tested through the statistical exploitation (multiple factorial analysis followed by hierarchical cluster analysis) of a large international dataset, resulting from a survey carried out in the same way in more than 40 countries under the coordination of the authors. The existence of three of our four SE models—the social-business model, the social-cooperative model and the entrepreneurial non-profit model—is strongly supported by the empirical analysis in almost all the surveyed countries.

This is the last and summarizing chapter of the book of case studies on innovative development processes in the Philippines. It identified common factors across the case studies. The concept of social innovations is defined and used as a framework for analyzing the case studies.

【報告の背景】 ビジネスパーソンや NPO 実践者のような社会人が、い わゆる社会人大学院生となり研究活動に従事する姿は一 般的になった。2000 年代以降、大学院での学位取得者の 増加への社会的期待も高まった。報告者自身、2003 年に 社会起業を創業し、 「組織のリーダーが学ばねば、組織も 伸びない」と痛感し、2007 年から 2013 年にてある大学院 の博士後期課程に在籍し、非営利経営の研究に従事した。 だが、大学の学部を卒業してから実践の現場に身を置 き続け、 いわば研究活動の 「基礎体力」 がないまま社会人 が大学院にて研究活動に従事すると、迷走が折々で見受 けられる。研究の起点となる研究課題で適したものが何 年も見つからず、 指導教官が助言を重ねても、 研究が遅々 として伸び悩み続けることは、珍しくない光景である。 確かに、指導教官の方々は、簡潔な言葉ながら、学術的 に深い示唆を社会人大学院生に伝え、論文指導等をされ ている。だが、 平時は実践の場に身を置き、 週末だけ大学 院に現れる社会人大学院生たちがどういう思考法をもち、 その思考法のどこに学術との乖離があるかは、専業で研 究者を長年務められる教員の方々には、想像がむつかし いようにも拝察される。日本の文脈に合う特段の方法論 もなく、 「どういう言葉ならば伝わるのか」と教員も悩ま れ、 研究の伸び悩みは続き、 休学や退学する者も珍しくな い。 他方、社会人大学院生らは指導教員の頭の中や、指導 の真意がなかなか理解できていないことも散見される。 一方、大学研究機関に属しない独立研究者が置かれた 環境も苛烈である。 予算も時間もなく、 オンライン論文や 書籍の購入費、国内外の学会への交通費等は自費である。 自分の研究のファシリテーションやフィードバックを受 けられる機会は、 通常は学会参加等しかない。 当然ながら、 研究活動が伸び悩むリスクと常に隣り合わせである。 確かに学術とは厳しい世界であり、安易に臨むと人生 計画が狂うことがありえる。野生の動植物のように独力 で困難を切り開いて生き抜く力が、本来どの研究者にも 必要である。 しかし、 上述の状況が各大学や独立研究者に て時に発生や再現しているようにも見受けられ、本報告 が今後の方法論の検討材料に貢献できれば幸いである。 本大会の「実践報告」とは NPO 実践者の現場報告と理解 する。本学会がさらに発展するための一つの貢献になれ ばと、 切り口が研究活動になるが、 本報告は独立研究者で ある報告者の現段階の実践報告そして問題提起である。 【論点】 打開そして方法論の検討では、以下が論点となろう。 1. 研究活動の目的は何か。籍を置く大学院における 一個人の学位取得のためか、微少であっても人類 の知の進歩に貢献するためか。両者の違いは何か。 2. どのような 「問い」 (Question)を日常から持つのか。 即ち、 課題とは何か。 社会人大学院生たちが考える 課題と、学術研究者たちが考える課題の違いとは 何か。両者はどう乖離しているのか。 3. 研究活動の「基礎体力」をどう養うか。Google Scholar、各種論文サイト等や情報蓄積のクラウド の日常からの活用、 学術論文の読み流し(Skimming)、 精読等。研究デザインをどう検討するか。 4. ノンプロフィット研究に国境はなく、もし留学経 験等がなくとも、どう国際化対応をするか。ISTR や EMES のような海外学会での英語での発表、英 語を母国語としない私たち日本人による英語での 論文作成、Editing Service 活用、査読対応等。 5. 上記 4.に関し、日本国内で日常から一人でも英語 力を養う方法に何があるのか。 さらには、 社会科学 等の学術論文の様式で多用されるAPA Stlyeの習得 にはどのような教材があるのか。 6. 独立研究者の日常の実務の留意点とは何か。独立 研究者をどうしたら社会としてより応援できるか。 7. その他

The purpose of this paper is to explore and compare the business models of two Philippine social enterprises: ECHOstore Sustainable Lifestyle and Greenius. In a commercial perspective, both social enterprises are involved in retailing eco-friendly products while in a social value perspective, they work with communities as supposed target beneficiaries.

In Business Model Generation, Osterwalder & Pigneur (2010) believes that every organization has a business model, because in order to survive, every organization that creates and delivers value must generate enough revenue to cover its expenses.

Based on this theory, business or enterprise is not the only organization that has a business model. There are organizations that are not immediately correlated with business, such as governments, non-governmental organizations, armed forces, charities, cooperatives and universities. Some of the organizations are recognized as social enterprise.

Social enterprise is an organization that advance solutions to social problems with business-like discipline, innovation, and determination. While social enterprise may generate profits, it is not the enterprise’s focus. Profits are rather a possible means to achieve sustainability in providing a social impact. This difference might affect the business model of the social enterprise.

Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010) proposes that a business model can best be described through nine basic building blocks, which become the basis of Business Model Canvas. The Canvas is a tool for describing, analyzing and designing business models. 

This paper attempts to understand the differences between the business models of business and social enterprise by comparing the Business Model Canvases of business and social enterprise in the same industry and to offer an insight to business models and social enterprise for further research.

Nowadays, entrepreneurship, specifically social entrepreneurship (SE), is drawing the attention of so many scholars, researchers and policy makers. Social entrepreneurs play a critical and significant role in any economy. They are known as social change agents, which are able to make fundamental contributions to economic and social development. However, there is not a common view about the topic, especially in the field of SE. This paper seeks to elaborate the concept of SE, as a unique and distinct concept. In order to do so, the paper reviews the existing literature on SE and proposes a model to put together the concepts and ideas and provide a comprehensive and common view for the beneficiaries of this phenomenon. This paper will rebuild the existing view of the SE as a two-sided fact, which includes ‘Social’ and ‘Entrepreneurship’ dimensions.

En la actualidad, a pesar del avance científico-tecnológico, gran parte de la población mundial se encuentra en situación de pobreza o de vulnerabilidad. Es por eso que los emprendedores han generado nuevas formas de organización, entre ellas, las empresas sociales. Una empresa social es una empresa cuya finalidad es resolver un problema social o ambiental, esta compañía no tiene pérdidas pero tampoco dividendos para los accionistas; modelo que se diferencia de las cooperativas, empresas socialmente responsables u otros modelos actuales. Estas empresas han sido un factor importante en el desarrollo algunas regiones, como por ejemplo se puede citar a la Unión Europea, Bangladesh, entre otros sitios. En México, el ecosistema de la empresa social podría decirse que todavía se encuentra inmaduro, sin embargo existen esfuerzos para potenciarlo. Se presenta una amplia lista de recursos para las personas interesadas en investigar o iniciar empresas sociales. El interés y el impacto del modelo seguirán creciendo en años venideros debido al impacto positivo que se ha generado.
Nowadays, despite the scientific and technologic progress, much part of the global population is on poverty or vulnerability. Because of that entrepreneurs have generated new ways of organisation, within these we have social business. A social business is a company which objetive is solving a social or environmental problem. It ́s a non-loss non-dividend company; this model differentiate from cooperatives, corporate social responsibility and other modern models. These companies have been a key development factor in some regiones, for example the European Union, Bangladesh, and many others. In Mexico, it could be said that the social business ecosystem is still immature, however many efforts exist to potentiate it. A wide list of resources is presented for the people that is interested on investigating o start a social business. Interest and impact in this model will keep growing in future years due to the positive impact it has generated.

This report argues that prisons will continue to struggle to rehabilitate offenders unless they are able to develop stronger, more positive links with their communities and economies.

The RSA sets out an alternative model of a not-for-profit community prison that would provide custody and rehabilitation services on a single site, bringing back to life unused Moj assets adjacent to existing prisons. It proposed a model where prisoners and ex-offenders would be paid to work in social enterprises. Was there a way to benefit from the innovations and freedoms that can come with private investment and partnership, but with the ethical constraints and focus of the public and voluntary sector?

We were struck by the fact that the work of prison officers and the service was largely invisible or misunderstood by the public. Whereas people would defend the NHS and schools and believed they understood health and education services, the prison service is something that happens ‘out of sight’, and is largely ignored, until something goes wrong. Yet in polls the public put crime at the top of their concerns. What kind of approach would better involve people, communities, and employers in helping prisons to do the work that we ask of them?

These questions and more will inform the study the RSA is undertaking as we assess the potential for taking the Transitions idea to the next stage and is working with a public prison in East Yorkshire to this end. Since publication of its original ‘vision’ pamphlet in 2011, the RSA has secured funding to undertake a major feasibility study throughout 2013.

The main author of this report is Rachel O'Brien with contributions from co-authors.

This article was based on the discussions of panelists invited in the Conference organized by the Benita and Catalino Yap Foundation, entitled :  Defining Social Entrepreneurship in the Philippine Context: Going to ASEAN Integration”.  It was published on December 1, 2014 under the column "Managing for Society" of  The Manila Times.

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to develop a better understanding of the pressures that can cause mission drift among social enterprises and some of the steps that social enterprises can take combat these pressures.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper is conceptual in nature. It draws on resource dependency theory, institutional theory and various extant empirical studies to develop an understanding of the causes of mission drift. This analysis is then used to examine the practical steps that social enterprises can take to combat mission drift.

Findings – The paper highlights how high dependence on a resource provider and the demands of ‘competing’ institutional environments can lead to mission drift. Based on this analysis the paper sets out various governance mechanisms and management strategies that can be used to combat mission drift.

Practical implications – The paper sets out practical steps that can be taken to try to prevent mission drift, including governance mechanisms such as constitutional and legal safeguards, separating commercial and social activities, external accreditation, and management strategies to maintain commitment to organisational values and mission, and manage key resources dependencies.

Originality/value – The paper will be of value to other researchers attempting to understand the dynamics social enterprises and in particular processes that can lead mission drift, and to managers of social enterprises keen to combat these processes.