Promise, Pitfalls, and Potential of Social Entrepreneurship: Positive Change Unleashed

The idea and practice of social enterprise - using business models to address social issues - has swept the world, taken up with enthusiasm by business leaders, nonprofit practitioners, and public policy makers alike. In this book, the authors argue that social enterprise is surrounded by great promise, and that this high expectation has contributed to its pitfalls, setting social enterprise out as separate and different from other kinds of business, public service provision, and nonprofit organising for social benefit. After exploring the problem of inflated expectations (the pitfalls), the authors 'rescue' the concept of social enterprise from sainthood - overly positive normative judgements - by presenting ways forward.

The book sets out how to really unleash the power of social enterprise so that it can actually deliver on its promise to improve how we organise for social purpose. It is organised into three parts: The promise, the pitfalls and possibilities. The promise sets out the different ways of approaching the concept of social enterprise. The pitfall section sets out the problem with the normative assumptions behind each approach. The possibilities section proposes how we can overcome the limitations of what social enterprise has become. Through this framework, the book covers a wide range of approaches to social enterprise illustrated by specific examples. Furthermore, the different areas in which social enterprises operate will be presented: Healthcare, education, social services, youth, environment, rural and community development, and international development.

This accessible book will be a valuable resource for a variety business scholars, instructors and upper-level students, but particularly those with an interest in entrepreneurship, business ethics, and CSR.