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This paper contributes to general research by providing a tested protocol to extract structured information with analytical and statistical significance from an exploratory context, despite small samples. Exploring new trends in business and management can be challenging. Sometimes the singularity of the phenomenon observed, or its novelty, offers small samples. The research protocol was developed to study social business models, providing understanding of differences between profiles of a taxonomy. Results were consistent when applied to other samples. The research protocol relies on a mixed method based on pattern identification through qualitative and quantitative analysis. Detailed methodological decisions and procedures offer a guide for dealing with ill-structured literature lacking consensus and empirical studies, addressing emergent phenomena. The theoretical background is developed in two parts: first, by contextualizing the literature where the mixed-method protocol was developed, and second, by referencing various business and management studies that informed the protocol. The research evaluated significant differences in social business models dimensions and profiles, aiming to classify them and understand how these differences influence social value creation. In the absence of theoretical definitions, social investment and award criteria were researched. The research context, including its strengths and constraints, is explained to assist researchers facing similar challenges. Online data and interviews underwent content and pattern-matching analysis to fill a model selected from the literature. This exploratory research helped overcome theoretical limitations and incorporated diverse perspectives needed to understand social entrepreneurship. The mixed-method strategy identified profiles and classified business models, proposing a taxonomy. The resulting taxonomy is supported by the literature and consistent with the contexts where it has emerged. All procedures are described with examples from the research project to enhance understanding and usage. This comprehensive approach allows researchers to navigate the complexities of social entrepreneurial literature, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social entrepreneurial initiatives (SEI) answer problems and needs that otherwise would remain unattended. Therefore, they provide high collective interest social value achieved by a stable, reliable, and sustainable operation. Because the economic goal is a means to accomplish the social aim, it is hard to overcome resource constraints. SEIs must prove innovation and efficiency to access funding. However, the investment criteria are usually circumstantial or abstract. Additionally, the theory lacks the recommendation to enlighten how to increase the chances to be funded. The literature does not offer consensual, consistent, empirically tested criteria to compare business models. To help address these issues, this paper provides a Delphi analysis of a social business model taxonomy. The following criteria selected interviews from a broad study: 1) have qualitative and quantitative data recorded; 2) represent different SEIs' types in the taxonomy. Then, four invited scholars blindly reviewed the data. They are experts in social innovation, entrepreneurship, sustainability, and social psychology. Online meetings helped to solve doubts and build synthesis. All Delphi participants described their opinion about the taxonomy fit by e-mail. Results were also compared by previous statistical classification. The Delphi process happened from December 2020 to June 2021. The similarity between statistical and analytical results indicated that the taxonomy is an efficient tool to identify and compare elements of the social business model. The study made the taxonomy easier and more replicable, providing an analytical framework. Evidence can help social agents and investors to frame information and achieve better decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation generally involves poorly structured problems, which do not have an obvious solution within the knowledge available. The solution is usually evolutionary, resulting from several attempts and refinements. Social innovation aims to address social problems and needs, which happen regardless of economic odds. This innovation can be an answer to a social need by embedded solutions and by different stakeholders' mobilization to sustain effective social change. It also can be about the best resource use or cost reduction, mainly the social ones. Portugal has developed a pioneer public policy to encourage entrepreneurship, social innovation and boost the social investment market. The Portugal Social Innovation Programme (PIS), links investors and social entrepreneurial initiatives (SEI) and offers support to structure SEI in a sustainable way by providing resources and network. Insofar SEIs accomplish the contracted results, PIS rewards their private investors. Thence public and private capital share risks, and the public capital is driven to the most effective initiatives. PIS enables the experimentation needed for innovation building and increases the chance of public services improvement, contributing to enhance the welfare-state. In this sense, this research goal is to describe three revealing cases of SEIs supported by PIS, highlighting innovation features and contextualizing theory. The data was collected by 3 semi-structured in-depth interviews which responses could be found in a database with 120 cases built by an online survey. The thematic content analysis was conducted applying codes from theory and PIS’s investment criteria. Then cases were compared to understand the outcomes of investment criteria and to examine theoretical features. The study discusses PIS investment criteria and presents SEIs types endorsed by it. Thus, it helps disclosure and stakeholders' expectations management. It also enables understanding the relationship between innovation, business model sustainability, and social value creation in the Portuguese context. The SEIs analyzed endorses PIS's innovative potential in building networks and foster the entrepreneurial ecosystem. This study also poses a new way to identify and compare different kinds of social values paving the way for a less subjective and tricky assessment routine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]