Strategic sensemaking by social entrepreneurs: creating strategies for social innovation

Abstract

PurposeThis study explores how a small minority of social entrepreneurs break free from third sector constraints to conceive, create and grow non-profit organisations that generate social value at scale in new and innovative ways.Design/methodology/approachSix narrative case histories of innovative social enterprises were developed based on documents and semi-structured interviews with founders and long serving executives. Data were coded “chrono-processually”, which involves locating thoughts, events and actions in distinct time periods (temporal bracketing) and identifying the processes at work in establishing new social ventures.FindingsThis study presents two core findings. First, the paper demonstrates how successful social entrepreneurs draw on their lived experiences, private and professional, in driving the development and implementation of social innovations, which are realised through application of their capabilities as analysts, strategists and resources mobilisers. These capabilities are bolstered by personal legitimacy and by their abilities as storytellers and rhetoricians. Second, the study unravels the complex processes of social entrepreneurship by revealing how sensemaking, theorising, strategizing and sensegiving underpin the core processes of problem specification, the formulation of theories of change, development of new business models and the implementation of social innovations.Originality/valueThe study demonstrates how social entrepreneurs use sensemaking and sensegiving strategies to understand and address complex social problems, revealing how successful social entrepreneurs devise and disseminate social innovations that substantially add value to society and bring about beneficial social change. A novel process-outcome model of social innovation is presented illustrating the interconnections between entrepreneurial cognition and strategic action.

Evaluating definitions of social entrepreneurship: A rulebook from the philosophy of science

“…While these concepts are intrinsically related, they are not identical. Social entrepreneurs are individuals associated with different organizational designations (e.g., founder/CEO; also see Price et al., 2023), whereas social enterprises refer to organizational entities with varying legal forms (e.g., cooperatives; see Datta & Gailey, 2012; Litrico & Besharov, 2018). Social entrepreneurship encompasses both individual and organizational ʻlevels’, including their materials, practices and outcomes, that pertain to tackling societal or environmental challenges through business endeavours.…”

“…Such research enables us to examine a field as an evolving entity with its own developmental patterns (Glynn & D'Aunno, 2022), thus offering a more historical perspective (Maclean et al., 2016). Future studies may therefore depict the trajectory of social entrepreneurship from its early stages to maturity and conceptualize the role of language in this evolution (see also, e.g., Parkinson & Howorth, 2008; Price et al., 2023). Similar to our arguments above on embracing different theorizing styles, we suggest that the examination of language use also offers intriguing interdisciplinary research opportunities.…”