Title: Social entrepreneurs and social change: tracing impacts of social entrepreneurship through ideas, structures and practices

Authors: Steven Ney; Markus Beckmann; Dorit Graebnitz; Rastislava Mirkovic

Addresses: School of Humanities and Social Science, Jacobs University, Bremen, Campus Ring 1, D-28759 Bremen, Germany ' Centre for Sustainability Management, Leuphana University Lueneburg, Scharnhorststrasse 1, D-21335 Lueneburg, Germany ' Centre for Sustainability Management, Leuphana University Lueneburg, Scharnhorststrasse 1, D-21335 Lueneburg, Germany ' School of Humanities and Social Science, Jacobs University, Bremen, Campus Ring 1, D-28759 Bremen, Germany

Abstract: This article introduces a research framework for systematically assessing and comparing the ways social entrepreneurs generate social change. Based on a review of the academic debate, we discuss the requirements for such a framework. We then develop a conceptual framework that focuses on the entrepreneur-environment interaction in two dimensions. The first dimension suggests we think of social space in terms of ideas, structures, and practices. The second dimension captures the dynamic nature of social change. It looks at the interdependencies between entrepreneurs and their environment as they play out at the levels of ideas, structures, and practices over time. We apply this framework to a real-life case and discuss how it may guide case study research.

Keywords: social entrepreneurship; social change; social entrepreneurs; evolution; methodology; case study research; ideas; structures; practices; innovation; Sekem.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEV.2014.059405

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, 2014 Vol.6 No.1, pp.51 - 68

Accepted: 14 Jun 2012
Published online: 24 May 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article