Social Entrepreneurship and Opportunity - Literature review Example

Name Instructor Course Date Social Entrepreneurship and Opportunity-Article Analysis Social entrepreneurship is a concept that has gained wide recognition in academic and business field. Kwedi links the increased interest in social entrepreneurship to the fact that the society is fast recognizing the critical role that social entrepreneurs play in the socio-economic development of society (4). In the article, Opportunity Formation in Social Entrepreneurship, Korsgaard begins by defining a social entrepreneur as an individual that uses innovative business ideas to find solutions to the problems that affects people in the society. Korsgaard uses Steen Møller, a Danish national who used his social entrepreneurial skills to make a change in his life and that of the society at large. Korsgaard reveals that, when Moller and 13 other families moved to an open field in the Eastern part of Denmark, they had nothing to call a house (265). As such, they had to find a way of getting a shelter where they can live. Fortunately enough, the 13 families got assistance from project Friland by giving the families a chance to build their own homes from cheap and recyclable materials that they could find around, including old bricks, bales of straw and old timber. According to Korsgaard, by constructing their houses from cheap and recyclable materials, this would not only help reduce the cost of living but also enable the 13 families to avoid taking a mortgage that would put them into expensive and high-risk debts (266). However, because Møller had experienced the extreme pressure of paying back mortgage, he did not want to find himself in the same situation again as the mortgage almost led him to a nervous breakdown. As such, he took the opportunity presented to them by project Friland by using the cheap and recyclable materials he found in the locality to build a cheap and environmentally sustainable house, thereby helping him avoid taking a mortgage that would have put him into debts. By using Steen Møller as an example, the author was able to demonstrate the value of social entrepreneurship socially, economically and environmentally. Despite the importance of social entrepreneurs in the society, Korsgaard notes that there is limited research on the link between opportunity and social entrepreneurship. Korsgaard also state that, as much as there has been an increased interest in social entrepreneurship, academicians are yet to create a coherent and accepted theoretical model that can be used in understanding the processes of social entrepreneurship (266). Therefore, in his article, Korsgaard sought to investigate two things: the meaning of social entrepreneurship opportunity and the role of opportunities in the process of social entrepreneurship. Korsgaard starts by exploring the concept of social entrepreneurship. According to the Korsgaard, as much as social entrepreneurship is acknowledged to play a critical in the society, the concept is still short of theory. Nonetheless, what comes out is that social entrepreneurship is important for any society. Firstly, Kickul and Lyons argue that social entrepreneurship involve activities that aims at a creating value to the society without focusing on profit making (23). By defining the social entrepreneurship in this manner, the authors are trying to imply that a social entrepreneur is that person that does things with the aim of creating value for the good of the public without any interest in benefiting from the activity. This means that a social entrepreneur is different from a business entrepreneur in the sense that the main aim of a business entrepreneur is to make profits. Hockerts, Mair, and Robinson, however, define social entrepreneurship as being socially responsible as a business venture. This definition simply implies that a business that embraces social entrepreneurship is that which goes beyond pursuance of profit by ensuring that its activities are socially responsible through engagement of corporate social responsibility initiatives. This implies that a company must also ensure that it minimizes its negative impact on the society, which also giving back to the society through programs, such as assisting the poor in ways that enable them to uplift their living standards. Regarding the link between social entrepreneurship and opportunity, Korsgaard notes that there is no single agreeable answer as to the link between the two (271). In fact, the author notes that the issue is still debatable in the business and academic environments. However, from the research that the author conducted in Friedland, he made critical observations that help in the understanding of the link between opportunity and social entrepreneurship. Firstly, Guclu, Dees and Anderson noted that a social entrepreneur is that person that looks for the opportunity available in the market and using innovative approaches to exploit the opportunities (par. 1). In other words, the author is suggesting that a social entrepreneur does not wait for the opportunity to present itself; rather social entrepreneurship requires looking for opportunity. To illustrate this, the author used Møller whom despite there being no opportunity apparent at the time he moved to Friland, managed to create an opportunity while trying to solve his financial problems. According to Korsgaard, a decade after building a house made of cheap and environment-friendly materials, this created for Møller an opportunity of its kind that totally changed his life and those of the community at large (276). Korsgaard also observed that opportunity creation process is divided into two with the first step dealing with the idea generation by a social entrepreneur after which the social entrepreneur transforms the promising idea generated into an opportunity. However, Seelosa and Mair noted that not everyone can generate an idea because to generate a promising idea, creativity is necessary, and this is what distinguishes a social entrepreneur from an ordinary person (241). In response, Korsgaard uses Møller by demonstrating stating that, after generating opportunity, Møller became creative by partnering with Anton to assist in the transformation of the opportunity into the design and production of informative and interesting television. However, Korsgaard reveals that Møller being a social entrepreneur, he ensured that the opportunity was used not just to help in addressing individual problems, but also to assist the people in the society and to ensure environmental sustainability (200). In conclusion, the analysis has demonstrated that social entrepreneurship has gained increased interest from scholars and business people. The increase is attributed to the critical role that social entrepreneurs play in the society. Unlike business entrepreneurs that establish businesses with profit motives, social entrepreneurs' main aim is to create value for the public good. However, it has also been demonstrated that social entrepreneurs do not wait for opportunities to present; rather they seek for opportunities through idea creation and use innovative ways to transform the promising ideas into opportunities. Works Cited Hockerts, Kai, Johanna Mair and Jeffrey Robinson. Values and Opportunities in Social Entrepreneurship. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Print. Guclu, J. Ayse, Gregory Dees and Beth Battle Anderson. The Process of Social Entrepreneurship: Creating Opportunities Worthy of Serious Pursuit. Web. 14 March 2016 https://centers.fuqua.duke.edu/case/knowledge_items/the-process-of-social-entrepreneurship-creating-opportunities-worthy-of-serious-pursuit/ Kickul, Jill and Thomas S. Lyons. Understanding Social Entrepreneurship: The Relentless Pursuit of Mission in an Ever Changing World. London: Routledge, 2012. Print. Kwedi, Marcel N. Social Entrepreneurship: The Secret to Starting a Business worth Living For. Princeton, NJ: Alain Marcel Kwedi Nkongo, 2014. Print. Korsgaard, Steffen. Opportunity Formation in Social Entrepreneurship. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 5. 4 (2011): 265-285.Print. Seelosa, Christian and Johanna Mair. Social Entrepreneurship: Creating New Business Models To Serve The Poor. Business Horizons 48 (2005): 241—246. Print. 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