Abstract
Social entrepreneurship has been defined and redefined, but the most widespread definitions prominently embed the notion of innovation in their definition. For many, social innovation and social entrepreneurship is largely the same. Social innovation only became a popular term a decade later. Social innovation describes the mechanism, the actual innovation, such as microfinance, micro-insurance or off-grid energy solutions. Social entrepreneur and the social enterprise are the actors driving social change through innovation. The fact that the expression “social innovation” made a popular entry on the scene and has pushed back the use of social entrepreneurship to some degree reflects the recognition that social entrepreneurs are not the only actors bringing about social innovation. Governments, businesses and large NGOs are discovering the potential for driving social change through innovative approaches either by themselves or in cooperation with social entrepreneurs.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Dees G (1998) The meaning of social entrepreneurship. http://www.redalmarza.com/ing/pdf/TheMeaningofSocialEntrepreneurship.pdf
Elkington J, Hartigan P (2008) The power of unreasonable people: how social entrepreneurs create markets that change the world. Harvard Business Press, Boston, pp 1–25
European Union (2012) Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, The Council, The European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: EU Social Business Initiative: Creating a favourable climate for social enterprises, key stakeholders in the social economy and innovation, {SEC(2011) 1278 final}
Martin R, Osberg S (2007) Social entrepreneurship: the case for definition. Stanford Soc Innov Rev (Spring) 5(2):28–35
Mulgan G (2007) The process of social innovation. In: Innovations. MIT Press, Spring
Phills J Jr, Deiglmeier K, Miller D (2008) Rediscovering social innovation. Stanford Soc Innov Rev (Fall)
Schwab K (2008) Global corporate citizenship: working with governments and civil society. Foreign Aff 87(1):107–118
Seelos C, Mair J (2007) Profitable business models and market creation in the context of deep poverty: a strategic view. Acad Manage Perspect 21(4):49–63
Seelos C, Mair J (2012) Innovation is not the Holy Grail. Stanford Soc Innov Rev (Fall)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Schöning, M. (2013). Social Entrepreneurs as Main Drivers of Social Innovation. In: Osburg, T., Schmidpeter, R. (eds) Social Innovation. CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36540-9_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36540-9_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-36539-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-36540-9
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsBusiness and Management (R0)