Purpose
In downturns, social enterprises (SEs) arise as a resilience business model. The authors focus on knowledge absorptive capacity (KAC) as a key dynamic capability to create shared value (SHV). The purpose of this study is to analyze whether it exists a cause-effect relationship between KAC and SHV creation in SEs.
Design/methodology/approach
The research model relates KAC and SHV creation. SHV creation involves two components: economic value (EV) and social value (SV). The authors argue that KAC has a positive effect on EV and SV creation, considering SV as a mediator variable. The model is tested by means of PLS-SEM.
Findings
The results reveal the existence of a positive and significant relationship between KAC and SHV creation, as well as the mediating role of SV creation.
Research limitations/implications
The sample comprises 127 SEs from the Euro-Mediterranean region (euro-region comprising areas from France and Spain), it would be interesting to include other euro-regions in future research.
Practical implications
The authors confirm KAC as an important antecedent of SHV creation and also that SEs create EV by means of SV, pointing to the existence of direct and indirect effects. This way, confirming the existence of a mediating effect.
Originality/value
It points the importance of KAC in SEs, something that has not been addressed before by the literature. It also goes beyond performance by considering SHV creation as a measure of SEs’ outcomes, as well as the definition of the variable SHV including not only social related issues but also environmental (green) issues.
RESUMEN:El emprendedor social es un agente de cambio que ayuda a paliar los efectos del desempleo y de la exclusión social de ciertos colectivos mediante la creación de empresas cuyo fin primordial es la inclusión sociolaboral de colectivos desfavorecidos. Si bien su importancia e interés es innegable, en la literatura económica no existe un reconocimiento explícito y claro del emprendimiento social y de la figura del emprendedor social. Un empresario que crea el negocio por vocación para cubrir necesidades sociales y donde la viabilidad de la empresa es fundamental para la continuidad del negocio. En este trabajo se efectúa una aproximación a la caracterización del perfil del emprendedor social y de las empresas sociales creadas por emprendedores en su función de inserción sociolaboral, mediante un estudio empírico basado en la metodología de análisis Delphi. Una formación especializada para profesionalizar la gestión o fomentar alianzas estratégicas son las alternativas que presentan los expertos para superar algunas de las deficiencias de las empresas sociales.
Resumen. Los bancos sociales representan en la actualidad una alternativa a la banca convencional, sobre todo para aquellos clientes que demandan un consumo socialmente responsable. La banca social está formada por dos tipos diferentes de entidades de crédito: los bancos cooperativos y los bancos éticos. Los primeros desarrollan su actividad desde hace ya más de un siglo a través de un modelo de banca de proximidad enfocada al territorio. Los segundos llevan tres décadas aproximadamente de funcionamiento, dirigiéndose a la realización de inversiones socialmente responsables (proyectos sociales y medioambientales). En el presente trabajo se analizan las similitudes y diferencias entre ambos modelos de banca social mediante la realización de un ánalisis de casos consistente en un estudio comparativo entre la cooperativa de crédito Caixa Popular y el banco ético Fiare Banca Ética. Del análisis se concluye que ambos modelos de banca social se basan en un sistema democrático y participativo en el que trabajadores y clientes participan activamente en su funcionamiento y ambos contribuyen a la inclusión financiera. En cambio, el modelo de la banca cooperativa es un modelo de proximidad basado en el trato personalizado y directo al cliente a través de las oficinas bancarias, mientras que el modelo de banca ética está basado en la banca electrónica con escasas sucursales. Palabras clave: Cooperativas de crédito, Finanzas éticas, Economía Social, Inversión Socialmente Responsable, Banca social. Claves Econlit: G21; M14; M15.[en] Ethic bank and cooperative bank. A comparative analysis through the study of Caixa Popular and Ethical Banking Fiare Abstract. Social banks now represent an alternative to conventional banking, especially for those customers who demand a socially responsible consumption. Social banking consists of two different types of credit institutions: cooperative banks and ethical banks. The first are active since more than a century through a proximity banking model focused on the territory. The latter have three decades approximately operation, addressing the realization of socially responsible investment (social and environmental projects). In this paper the similarities and differences between the two models of social banking are analyzed by conducting a consistent analysis of cases in a comparative study between the credit union Caixa Popular and the ethical bank Fiare Banca Etica. The analysis concludes that both social banking models are based on a participatory and democratic system in which employees and customers are actively involved in their operation and both contribute to _____________
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