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With the global trend of sustainable development, traditional nonprofit organizations are facing the challenge of economic value creation. Entrepreneurship offers a possibility for nonprofit organizations to survive with innovative business methods. Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) reflects the degree of innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk‐taking in terms of organizational entrepreneurial behavior. Research on the mechanisms of EO formation in a social context is still in the exploratory stage. While a large number of studies have explored dimensional modifications to EO, it has yet to consider how EO in a social context is affected at the individual level. To address this gap, we explain the potential impact of social entrepreneurs' core self‐evaluation (CSE) on EO from social cognitive theory using a sample of Chinese social enterprises. The findings suggest that CSE has a significant positive effect on EO. We also distinguish the partially mediating role played by the two approaches and avoidance motives. The findings also suggest that the high socioeconomic status of social entrepreneurs strengthens the relationship between CSE and EO, as well as the relationship between CSE and both motives. Our findings provide valuable insights into the decision‐making behavior of social enterprises for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social enterprises have been widely recognized as tools to solve societal problems. As the soul of social enterprises, social entrepreneurs help social enterprises overcome resource constraints and achieve survival and development. However, existing studies have focused limited attention on the effects of social entrepreneur characteristics on social enterprise performance. Drawing on the institutional logics perspective, this paper constructs a theoretical model of social entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial competence affecting social enterprise performance through organizational legitimacy and examines the moderating effect of regulatory uncertainty. Data were collected from 198 social enterprises in China. The results indicate that organizational legitimacy mediates the relationships between social entrepreneurial passion, entrepreneurial competence, and social enterprise performance. Regulatory uncertainty positively moderates the relationship between organizational legitimacy and social enterprise economic performance. The findings of this study contribute to research on social enterprise performance and organizational legitimacy. This paper also offers practical suggestions that social entrepreneurs should exert their passion and competence, obtain organizational legitimacy, and analyze the institutional environments to promote the development of the enterprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social enterprises are hybrid organizations that combine for‐profit, market‐based practices with nonprofit goals. Social enterprises in China face specific political and institutional challenges that negatively affect their development. This study explores how a Government‐Organized Non‐Government Organization (GONGO) overcomes institutional challenges at different stages of social enterprise development by engaging strategies, which eventually lead to the establishment of a sustainable social enterprise. The GONGO applies social entrepreneurship in the three major aspects of identifying challenging social problems, implementing innovative market‐based solutions, and initiating long‐term institutional changes to tackle the stubborn social issue. This study demonstrates a unique top‐down social enterprise model and shows that in an authoritarian context, the GONGO could potentially take up the role of developing new social enterprise. This study initiates a deeper conversation between social entrepreneurship and China's socio‐political development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Transformations in Business & Economics is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: Social enterprises pursue growth through business model innovation, and acquiring legitimacy is critical to ensuring such innovation. The purpose of this paper is to examine how business model innovation and legitimacy affect the performance of new social enterprises during different development stages. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses the hierarchical regression analysis and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to examine social enterprise performance and constructs and verifies a moderated mediation effect of business model innovation, based on a survey of 183 new social enterprises in China. Findings: This paper finds that business model innovation has a positive effect on social enterprise performance and an organization's legitimacy, acting as the partial mediator between them. The mediating effect of legitimacy is more positive when social enterprises are in the early growth stage. A more detailed analysis of fsQCA explores the necessary and sufficient conditions for the growth of social enterprise performance across different stages and reveals five configurations that improve the performance of social enterprises. Practical implications: This study explores the role of business model innovation and legitimacy in social enterprise growth and provides empirical evidence about the causal configuration of high-performing social enterprises. Originality/value: This research clarifies two antecedents of social enterprise performance and proposes a more inclusive framework that addresses the factor of dynamic development stages. This paper deepens the understanding of social enterprise performance in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how the government harnesses the development of social enterprises. Drawing on an in-depth qualitative study in Chengdu City, China, we find that institution building, financial supporting, incubation developing, systematical cultivating and resource matchmaking are the main strategies employed by the municipal government to promote the development of social enterprises, whereupon we argue that besides the role as referee and sponsor which are the governments' traditional roles in western countries, the government in China also play a role of coach in harnessing the development of social enterprises. This paper contributes to the literature by theorizing how administrative forces affect the growth of hybrid organizations and also contributes to providing empirical evidence of the institutional environment of social enterprises in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducts a comparative analysis of social enterprise intermediaries in China and India to better understand how they legitimize social enterprises in new settings. To address theoretical weakness in this sphere, it combines several institutional theories to capture disruptions created by institutional innovation and also legitimizing processes. Drawing on data collected from surveys, interviews, and websites in each country, it finds that intermediaries mitigate negative and leverage positive influences of external institutions though their strategies vary due to country differences in institutional pressures. This information is key to building intermediaries' capacity to institutionalize social enterprises as new institutional actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scale-up of social enterprises is usually assumed to bring positive social change. Yet, the negative side, particularly the tensions and risks, in the scaling process is largely ignored. This research aims to explore the tensions and risks related to different scaling strategies. Based on a comparative case study on two leading Chinese microfinance institutions – Grameen China and CFPA Microfinance – that both adopt the Grameen Bank model, this research draws on the lens of institutional logics to understand the microfoundations of five types of tensions and three kinds of risks in the scaling process of the two microfinance institutions. This research provides an integrative framework that captures the nuanced sources, forms and challenges in the scaling of social enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of China Tourism Research is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Social innovation has increasingly become a hot topic in China, a process in which multiple sectors collaborate with each other, aiming to change the status quo through creative, effective, efficient and sustainable ways. InterBoxes is an innovative project in the form of a social enterprise that commits to improving physical school conditions by building libraries, classrooms, schools and dormitories with refurbished cargo shipping containers called "Boxes". Within the scope of this project the word "Inter" signifies that each Box is equipped with an Internet connection to the outside world. Conceptually, as a social enterprise, the for-profit, business arm of InterBoxes is projected to operate within metropolitan areas, building structures such as cafés, gyms, bookstores, etc., all which will generate revenue to support the nonprofit operation in rural areas. This descriptive case study examines the implementation and use of InterBoxes as a library in a rural primary school and addresses the promises and challenges facing the project. The findings indicate that InterBoxes demonstrates much potential as a social innovation to improve physical school conditions and other rural education issues through the creative use of space and place. Recommendations for scaling up its operation in connection with a larger global network of innovation using shipping containers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Taking China as a research context, the purpose of this paper is to delineate how social and business tensions manifest in Chinese nascent social enterprises and to disentangle the strategies that they adopt to manage the business-social dual goals to achieve organizational viability. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative multiple-case study is used to collect and analyze data. Empirical data are drawn from in-depth semi-structured interviews with Chinese social entrepreneurs, ethnographic observation of social enterprises as well as secondary sources. Findings: Depending on personal motivations and resource availability, social entrepreneurs' perceptions toward pursuit of dual goals range from integration to differentiation in the short term, despite consensus on the concurrent development in the long term. The leverage of resources, image management, continuous innovation and need-based services are viable approaches that Chinese social enterprises adopt to manage the dual goals in order to create both social and economic value. Research limitations/implications: This paper reveals understanding of the concrete tensions experienced among Chinese nascent social enterprises in pursuing business and social goals and how they manage to integrate the synergistic aspects of social and business goals to achieve survival and growth. Based primarily on qualitative case study method, the research findings are context specific and may not be ideal for generalization. Practical implications: The authors reveal strategies by which synergistic benefits between dual goals may be achieved. Innovation (e.g. in resource utilization, in service format and content) and differentiation (e.g. in organization positioning) would be beneficial in enhancing the competitiveness of social enterprises. To enhance organizations' credibility, quality of products and service should be monitored and organizational transparency needs to be enhanced. Social implications: It is suggested that the government specifies legal forms and legitimates interests of social enterprises, formulates preferential policies to stimulate the development of social enterprises, and develops a set of qualification authentication system to regulate this emerging sector. Originality/value: The study examines the manifestation of business and social tensions and presents dual-goal management strategies from a non-western perspective. As an original contribution to the field of social entrepreneurship, the study responds to calls for in-depth analysis of conflicting objectives and tension management in social enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of China Tourism Research is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach: This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings: Social enterprises in China are becoming a growing segment of the market, due to an increasing need for China to act in the best interests of its own society. This review looks at how business model innovation can help social enterprise performance. Originality/value: The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the aftermath of the Great Recession, the concern with exclusionary and unethical business practices has led to the growing popularity of social entrepreneurship, which focuses on the creation of social value, not wealth. In this article, I reflect on social entrepreneurship in China, a unique context given the strong communist party leadership and the transition to a market economy. To begin, I discuss the legal and political framework for social entrepreneurship in China, followed by an overview of the sector’s characteristics, including age, size, social issues emphasized, leader characteristics, and the role of women. Next, I provide examples of three social enterprises in China that illustrate the diverse possibilities for this sector as a force for social and institutional change. I conclude with some suggestions for strengthening China’s social enterprise ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This study aims to examine the development of a social enterprise in China’s tourism industry by analyzing the coevolution of the social entrepreneur and the social system.Design/methodology/approach Purposeful sampling was used to select 1kg.org as a single-case study. Semistructured in-depth interviews of three informants were conducted to obtain organization-specific insights. Interview data were analyzed following structuration theory. Secondary data and interviews of other social entrepreneurs and experts were used to support the findings. Research findings were validated using triangulation and member-checking methods.Findings Because of the institutional environment, most nonprofit organizations in China do not have resource independence and clear legal identity. Meanwhile, social enterprise has emerged as a new organizational form with the objective of creating social value through profitable business operations.Practical implications Social enterprise is still in its infancy in China, particularly in the tourism field. This study reveals an innovative and sustainable model for nonprofit organizations in China facing institutional challenges and competitive funding environments. It provides recommendations to policymakers for improving mechanisms to increase social services through social enterprises.Originality/value This study proposes a new conceptual framework for studying social entrepreneurship by adapting structuration theory to address contemporary social and business issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reform of public service institutions (PSIs) is crucial to China's public-sector organization reform. Social enterprises (SEs) have flourished in western countries in recent two decades. Its approach to "business operating for a social purpose" by balancing social and economic value can provide possible solutions for Chinese reform on PSIs. This article aims at exploring the relevance of the theoretical underpinnings and the innovative practices in SEs and their potential applications to China's PSIs reform in promoting the social value and formatting the social mission. The paper argues that the commercial approaches mixed with public service orientation, related legislation promotion, stakeholder corporate governance structure, innovation on personnel management, and social entrepreneur leadership, are important elements to PSIs reform. Therefore, China needs to introduce the reflection mechanism in order to achieve the reform goals due to the complexity of the PSIs reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As Chinese population ageing becomes increasingly severe, the disjunct between supply and demand for pension services is becoming increasingly serious. The development of elderly care social enterprises plays an important role in solving this disjunction. Such development comes from both the enterprise's own capacity building and from external support. There are abundant studies on the capacity-building of pension social enterprises in the existing literature, but there are relatively few studies on their external support. In order to better study the external support of elderly care social enterprises in China, we adopted the case study method; we selected GY (a typical elderly care social enterprise in China) as a case study according to certain criteria, and we conducted a series of discussions. Firstly, an analytical 'government-society-family' framework was constructed. Second, it was argued that there is insufficient external support for elderly care social enterprises. At the government level, there is a lack of policies, difficulties in implementation and significant geographical differences; at the social level, there are weak support platforms and lack of community supports; and at the family level, there are constraints in regard to traditional concepts and the ability to pay. Finally, an external support system of Chinese elderly care social enterprises was constructed to help more elderly care social enterprises overcome the lack of external support in the development process.

This article examines the application of the social enterprise model of poverty reduction and empowerment in the context of community organization among migrant women in China. In recent years, the social enterprise model has been portrayed as one of the most viable strategies in providing innovative and sustainable solutions to social problems. However, scepticism remains as to whether the business model is compatible with NGO and social work practice models. The author applies an entangled social logic approach in analysing the everyday practices of community workers and mainstay service users in reacting to the introduction of the business model in transforming women's groups into quasi-social enterprises. Evidence for analysis is collected through two cases studies of NGOs in China. Finally, broader theoretical and methodological issues of the synergy or tensions between the social enterprise model and NGO or social work practice models are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reflects on the emergence and growth of social enterprises in Hong Kong via the theoretical lens of social innovation. Two distinct and yet complementary usages of the term in the fields of local/urban governance and social entrepreneurship are employed to make sense of the development of social enterprises in the past decade. By reviewing the development trajectories and the organizational practices of five local social enterprise cases, the twofold meanings of social innovation as new modalities of service governance and key components in the practice of social entrepreneurship are delineated, which are found applicable to the policy discourse in Hong Kong. The experience of social enterprise development suggests that the idea of social innovation would likely play an important role in building and sustaining the growth of the social economy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract Social enterprise is gradually transcending the category of nonprofits; they have risen rapidly with society's rapid growth. This article examines the case of the Ningxia Center for Environment and Poverty Alleviation [sic] and introduces its development into a social enterprise through provision of microloans. This non-governmental and public-interest form of organization combines the spirits of innovation and enterprise into one and offers a new way of thinking about resolving market failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Taiwan and Hong Kong, social enterprises are in a stage of growth and are becoming more diversified. This article aims to explore the governance of social enterprises in Taiwan and Hong Kong, including the analysis of several dimensions on issues such as the dynamics of the governance structure and function, board composition and CEO, and institutional adjustments in the board and CEO within the social enterprise sectors in both regions. The theoretical concepts in a social enterprise context employed in this article include the corporate governance model and the democratic governance model. The data used for this article are the surveys conducted in 2010. In addition, the collection of the qualitative data from interviews with key leaders (e.g. board member and CEO) of eight social enterprises in these two Chinese communities is supplemented. Through such comparisons, we have obtained significant findings on governance issues such as the transformation of organizational structure and the institutional adjustments of the board members and CEO in the development of social enterprises in Taiwan and Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Social enterprises have been increasingly heralded as a viable social development strategy to promote the employment opportunities of economically and socially vulnerable groups, notably the mentally handicapped and unemployed youth. This article critically reviews the development of social enterprises in Hong Kong, assessing their effectiveness in creating jobs for the unemployed and discussing their operating difficulties and constraints in alleviating poverty. What should be the appropriate role of the government in creating an enabling operating environment for social enterprises to facilitate work integration of the unemployed? How viable is social enterprise as a people- based intervention for poverty alleviation? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After a review of the main academic research and perspectives on social enterprises both in China and abroad, a framework for understanding social enterprises is offered in summary. The framework has two dimensions: the social enterprise phenomenon and social enterprises' characteristics. We also adopt three angles - the public interest, markets, and culture - from which to observe them. And we analyze them on four levels: market practices, public-interest innovations, policy support, and ideals and values. Upon these foundations, social enterprises can be defined as a form of enterprise somewhere between public-interest and for-profit enterprises, a product of the organic combination of the public interest and the market economy, and a kind of social organization combining properties and characteristics of NPOs and enterprises. As they develop, social enterprises in China have formed their own characteristics and specific models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Work-integration social enterprises (WISEs), established mainly by non-government welfare agencies and managed by social workers, provide disadvantaged groups with an opportunity for employment and training in businesses. The participants benefit in terms of income, and also through expanded social networks and improved psycho-social well-being. WISEs thus contribute to poverty alleviation and social capital building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]