Abstract
While much more breadth in the conceptualization of social entrepreneurship exists in the literature originating from the developed world today, the growth in interest and practice of social enterprise in Lebanon and the Middle East is on the rise. This is mainly due to the opportunities presented by social enterprises for solving the salient social, political and environmental problems that are stifling economic development in this part of the world. Businesses in Lebanon and the region are increasingly integrating sustainable platforms for social and environmental impact into their corporate strategies, in an effort to meet the rising demands for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and social entrepreneurship to address glaring socio-economic ills in their environment.
While the social enterprise model is rapidly gaining traction in the region, a framework for establishing a common understanding of these enterprises and how they can succeed has yet to be solidified. If levels of success in social enterprises are not achieved, then their role as change agents in the sphere of economic development risks being compromised. Hence this chapter is largely practical in nature, using established literature on social enterprises to identify the factors that lead to success in the social enterprise landscape, particularly in terms of creating social impact, sustainability and scale. We analyze the social enterprise context in Lebanon and consequently paint a picture of the strengths and shortcomings faced in the local context. These findings are three fold, inherent to the businesses themselves, to the systemic forces within the fabric of Lebanese society and to the nature of the market. Consequently, we formulate recommendations intended to bridge the gaps that today stifle the potential success of social enterprises in Lebanon and compromise potential benefits to society. We draw implications from there that are relevant to the social enterprise discourse in the wider Middle East region.
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Jamali, D., Kreidie, L. (2014). Social Entrepreneurship in the Arab World: Lessons from Lebanon. In: Pate, L., Wankel, C. (eds) Emerging Research Directions in Social Entrepreneurship. Advances in Business Ethics Research, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7896-2_9
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