Abstract
This chapter explores examples of, and potential for, social innovation in Cuba’s emerging non-state enterprise sector. Due to the inherent socially oriented values of the country, we argue that social enterprises are arising endogenously and merit examination as a potential avenue for simultaneously pursuing social, environmental, and economic outcomes. We contextualize this argument in relevant theoretical perspectives pertaining to social innovation, and in the country’s unique historical background, especially as it pertains to the role of enterprise in its socialist system. Cases of social entrepreneurship are presented to illustrate the potential role and impact of social innovation. We provide an overview of available educational opportunities for managers and entrepreneurs and identify a gap in the training of social entrepreneurs. We conclude by presenting a series of recommendations for policy makers and educational institutions aimed at promoting the values and skills required to foster social entrepreneurship and other forms of social innovation.
The country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something
Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932
I was not chosen to be President to restore capitalism to Cuba nor to give up the Revolution. I was chosen to defend, maintain, and continue to perfect socialism, not to destroy it.
Raul Castro, 2009
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Notes
- 1.
A nuanced conception of bricolage (the ability to make do with limited resources) that has been specifically adapted to the context of social enterprises and includes the additional constructs of social value creation, stakeholder participation, and persuasion (Di Domenico et al. 2010).
- 2.
According to Nova (2011), in Cuba there have traditional been three types of agricultural cooperatives: (1) the Credit and Service Cooperatives (CCS) arose out of voluntary associations between farmers wishing to benefit from the land reform policies promulgated by the state while at the same time maintaining ownership of their lands; (2) the Agricultural Production Cooperatives (CPA) were formed by farmer-landowners who sold their land to the state and associated their means of production through a cooperative structure; (3) the Basic Units of Cooperative Production (UBPC) arose out of the subdivision of large agricultural state enterprises owning large tracts of land and possessing considerable resources. UBPC members were given land under conditions of permanent usufruct without payment and were provided with repayable soft loans. These three types of agricultural cooperatives have possessed different degrees of managerial autonomy at different times. Nevertheless, they all have operated within well-defined and enforced state parameters.
- 3.
Overheard in a conversation of Cuban managers by one of the authors in Havana in 2014 and, as in all group interactions, it may not accurately reflect the opinions of all managers.
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Voltan, A., Sagebien, J., Sarmiento, E. (2017). Beyond Revolution and Actualization: The Potential for Social Innovation in Cuba’s Non-state Enterprise Sector. In: Brundenius, C., Göransson, B., Carvalho de Mello, J. (eds) Universities, Inclusive Development and Social Innovation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43700-2_7
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