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Nonprofit organizations (NPO) have suffered from two interrelated bottlenecks: lack of funds and difficulties to grow and operate at scale. Business model innovation (BMI) has been found to be important to overcome those bottlenecks, but the extant literature is limited and lacks a solid empirical foundation. To explore this topic, we conducted a retrospective analysis of a single case study, tracking the evolution of an organization's business model as it went from being a traditional, donation-based NPO, to a dynamic sales-driven social enterprise (SE). As a result, the organization gained financial autonomy, scaled up operations and increased impact. Our findings add to the literature by identifying BMI change drivers and outcomes. We show how a platform-inspired business model can enhance value creation and value capture in a SE.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to identify how the value dynamics of the freemium business model (BM) play out in a social enterprise.Design/methodology/approachWe draw on a multiple case study of two social enterprises –one nonprofit (Aravind Eyecare) in Asia and one for-profit in Latin America (Biodent)– to analyze the implications of applying the value architecture of a freemium BM to social enterprises.FindingsThe freemium BM departs from standard practice when applied in social enterprises. Meaningful differences include the feasibility/desirability of converting free users to paying ones, the presence of significant variable costs –which requires balancing the ratio of free and paying customers– and the use of nontraditional pricing schemes to enhance value capture. The social freemium BM can increase scalability, value creation and value capture. Under this model, “beneficiaries” can be more than passive recipients of value and contribute to a venture's success in various ways –such as lowering its operational costs or enhancing its value proposition toward third parties.Originality/valueWhile in the past years commercial enterprises have been disrupted by the emergence of freemium platforms, the social enterprise field has barely taken notice. We extract lessons and implications from this paradigmatic change for the theory and practice of business model innovation in social enterprises, of particular relevance to Latin America, where social and environmental disequilibria remain a recurring feat.

Does responsible leadership matter when assembling an inclusive supply chain at the Base-of-the-Pyramid (BOP)? Current literature implicitly assumes that it does not. BOP scholars initially focused on the importance of shaping innovative and disruptive offerings, with radically improved price–performance ratios. Subsequent studies tended to focus on barriers to implementation of large-scale ventures at the BOP. Their common characteristic was the fact that the attributes and roles of the individuals involved were deemed unimportant. If the opportunity was there, provided barriers were removed and the right value proposition was offered, the inclusive venture should take off. We evaluate three cases of leaders who succeeded in building inclusive ventures at the BOP, in contexts marked by institutional voids—where formal markets were weakly structured or nonexistent. Building a viable business under those circumstances entailed two tasks: imagining what is possible and then turning that vision into a reality. We found that, in carrying out those tasks, individuals do matter. Sampled cases show that working with nontraditional partners in inclusive supply chains requires more than aligning material incentives. Our analysis suggests that responsible leadership (RL) with a strong ethical foundation can provide powerful leverage to ensure buy-in and commitment from the various actors involved. We show how RL can impact organizations and external stakeholders through positive upward spirals. Our analysis contributes to the literature on BOP and RL by confirming, extending, and challenging existing knowledge. We propose two novel attributes (catalyst and social innovator) and argue that context matters, influencing how RL is operationalized and defined. Understanding the critical role of RL in the construction of inclusive supply chains adds a critical missing link that sheds light into the micro level of new business creation, development, and consolidation at the BOP.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which hope and perceived goal attainment can be developed in subsistence entrepreneurs through the right training tools. Design/methodology/approach A longitudinal study of a subsistence entrepreneurship training program in three Central American countries was carried out. Participants were divided on the basis of their exposure to training (yes, no), and of the type of training received (none, business plan, business model). The authors carried out three assessments (just before the program, six months and one year after the program) of participants’ business goals and their hope of attaining them. Information was analyzed using linear regression. Findings Participants exposed to training reported significant increases in perceived goal attainment and in their hope levels. Training based on the business plan affected hope agency in the short term, as predicted by the logic of causation theory. Training based on the business canvas affected hope pathways, as predicted by the logic of effectuation theory. Research limitations/implications Given the data collection process (a non-random sample and selection of participants), the findings are not generalizable without stringent procedures and further replication. Practical implications If hope is a reliable predictor of goal attainment, it should be promoted and measured. Given the limited means of gathering data and making reliable projections that most entrepreneurs endure, the business canvas’ contribution to entrepreneurs’ “emotional equipment” ceteris paribus should be more valuable for subsistence entrepreneurs. Originality/value This is the first study comparing the short- and long-term effects of two entrepreneurial learning devices on entrepreneurs’ hope and business goal attainment.

The purpose of this article is to advance research on sustainable innovation through a business model (hereafter, BM) perspective. We consider the BM as a boundary-spanning system that encompasses various firms, in which value is created, exchanged and captured. More specifically, we look at the changes called for by the imperative of sustainable development, through the perspective of the BM. When companies coalesce around well-entrenched BMs, sunk costs and lock-in effects emerge as formidable barriers for sustainable innovation. We posit that the multiple dimensions in which sustainable innovation creates value for BM participants have not been adequately studied. In this article, we seek to address that gap by exploring the following research questions: What mechanisms enable transactions in boundary-spanning BMs that seek to bring about sustainable innovation? Are there synergies or otherwise meaningful connections between the different collaboration mechanisms? Are there enabling mechanisms that may facilitate or hinder those mechanisms? We look at the BM of three green innovators: new entrants that created a niche in their industries with clear social and environmental advantages over imperfect substitutes. Our main contributions to the literature on sustainable innovation are: (1) the integration of social and environmental collaboration mechanisms in addition to the economic ones used by extant studies; (2) the identification of the connections among these social, economic and environmental collaboration mechanisms; and (3) the identification of a set of enabling conditions within the focal firms that facilitate collaboration at the BM level. We close with propositions about enabling conditions, collaboration mechanisms and outcomes (sustainable innovations).

In our research, we examine the efforts made by Latin American business schools in the last decade to deliver a value-based education. We carry out a survey with a sample of faculty members and program directors from the whole region. We find that societal demands influenced the direction of managerial education toward values and social responsibility, changing contents and teaching methodologies in the process. Our research shows that the teaching of value-based contents—social responsibility, business ethics and environmental sustainability—has gained ground in the region in the last decade, and that the emphasis on value-based contents goes hand-in-hand with a more intensive use of active learning methodologies—the case method in particular. From the perspective of respondents, the emphasis on active learning seems to correlate positively with observed changes in students’ civility.

Successful cases of base of the pyramid (BoP) ventures in large corporations remain hard to find. The BoP literature has identified external and (to a lesser extent) internal barriers to implementation. However, this literature has treated barriers as isolated and discrete elements, overlooking the fact that most often those are integrated as part of the organization’s business model. In fact, the challenge of implementing a BoP venture within the umbrella of a large corporation can be framed as a challenge to achieve organizational ambidexterity. We apply that frame to the study of a critical incident, a “most likely” case where 12 large corporations received every incentive to implement BoP ventures, yet only 3 survived. We looked at both failures and success cases, and extract lessons from them. Our findings go against the grain of some prescriptions of mainstream BoP literature and the practice of funding agencies. We finish with recommendations for policy.

Latin America's deteriorating socio-environmental conditions and widely publicized corruption scandals have in recent years led concerned citizens to expect business to play a more constructive role in society. How did Latin American business schools react to societal demands for a rounder education? What adjustments in content and pedagogical methods did those changes imply? This paper seeks to extract lessons from those changes by probing into methodologies likely to be conducive to shaping well-rounded leaders. The analysis shows that the introduction of values in Latin American MBA curricula went hand-in-hand with a change in methodologies used for teaching courses on social responsibility, environmental sustainability and business ethics. The redefinition of B-schools role – from training centers for functional specialists, to catalysts for positive societal change – carries with it an expanded role for active learning methodologies.

Management of different types of partnerships plays a decisive role in company performance. Complex business ventures, such as those created to serve low-income populations, usually include both cross- and same-sector partnerships. However, the initial diversity featured in these alliance portfolios diminishes as companies take their ventures up to scale. This article develops theoretical propositions about the evolution and configuration patterns of portfolios that include both cross- and same-sector partnerships. Two longitudinal case studies serve to illustrate the theoretical framework developed for alliance portfolios that include both types of partnerships. Companies that create such portfolios adopt partnership strategies that follow paths also identified in the evolution of portfolios only made up of partnerships with other private firms: i.e., an evolution from adapting to shaping and exploiting strategies.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the formative potential of the case method on MBA students’ “civility” – the procedural dimension of the ethics field. While a robust literature has focussed on the impact of teaching ethics (content) on students’ behavior, to-date no study has explored the link between the pedagogy used (method) and students behavioral dispositions. Design/methodology/approach – A thorough theory review was conducted, covering the different pedagogy literatures that frame the discussion on the link between learning methods and ethics in general, and civic-minded behavior in particular. Drawing on relevant findings from these literatures, some implications are drawn, and tentative propositions are laid out. Findings – The study seeks to readdress the existing imbalance between the cognitive and the formative aspects of education, placing emphasis on the latter. The paper proposes that, other things being equal, MBA programs that make intensive and systematic use of the case method will foster civility among students. Through the iterative practices embedded in the case method, students internalize a number of behavioral predispositions that form the basis of civic behavior. Practical implications – This paper calls for an approach in managerial education that goes beyond the transmission of knowledge. In particular, the paper emphasize the importance of seeing the MBA as “little schools of democracy,” where civic-oriented inclinations can take root in future business leaders. This finding carries substantial implications for business schools and professors, in Latin America and beyond. Originality/value – The transmission of technical knowledge has traditionally been considered the backbone of managerial education – a purely cognitive process. This paper, on the other hand, seeks to highlight the transformative potential of the MBA through the use of the appropriate learning methodologies - the case method in particular. By focussing on the concept of civility, the paper seek to go beyond the prevailing focus on content among ethics scholars and highlight the relevance of habits as a necessary first step on the shaping of civic-minded business leaders. This paper adds a much needed missing link between learning methods and civic behavior.

The idea that business can play a role in alleviating poverty has caught the imagination of academics and practitioners alike. An emerging consensus points to the critical importance of partnerships in market initiatives addressed to the base of the pyramid (BOP). But despite the calls for cross sector partnerships in BOP initiatives, our collective understanding of how these actually work has not advanced proportionally. This study attempts to address this issue by examining the dynamics at play in nine networks that integrated the BOP with mainstream markets in nine developing nations of North, Central, and South America. Our field-based analysis generated a number of tentative propositions structured around three broad issue-areas: alliance formation (drivers that compelled companies to engage in strategic partnerships), alliance implementation (choice of governance mechanisms, resources for enhancing trust and reciprocity between partners, and conflict-resolution mechanisms), and performance outcome (the extent to which an organization’s commitment to an alliance impacted its performance and its societal context).

Corporate Social Entrepreneurship befähigt Unternehmen, wirksamere Formen von Corporate Social Responsibility zu entwickeln. Das nützt sowohl der Gesellschaft als auch dem Unternehmen

The idea that business can play a role in alleviating poverty has caught the imagination of academics and practitioners alike. An emerging consensus points to the critical importance of partnerships in market initiatives addressed to the base of the pyramid (BOP). But despite the calls for cross sector partnerships in BOP initiatives, our collective understanding of how these actually work has not advanced proportionally. This study attempts to address this issue by examining the dynamics at play in nine networks that integrated the BOP with mainstream markets in nine developing nations. The paper is structured in three broad issue-areas: alliance formation (drivers that compelled companies to engage in strategic partnerships); alliance implementation (choice of governance mechanisms, resources for enhancing trust and reciprocity between partners, and conflict-resolution mechanisms); and performance outcome (the extent to which an organization's commitment to an alliance impacted its performance and its societal context).

The core purpose of social enterprise is to create value for the betterment of society. This aim lies at the center of the framework and is the end toward which all other elements in the framework must contribute. Greater alignment of these elements with the central purpose produces higher organizational coherence which contributes to superior performance.

The core purpose of social enterprise is to create value for the betterment of society. This aim lies at the center of the framework and is the end toward which all other elements in the framework must contribute. Greater alignment of these elements with the central purpose produces higher organizational coherence which contributes to superior performance.Abstract: Este libro reúne los casos de 40 entidades de primera línea de América Latina y España, tanto empresas como organizaciones de la sociedad civil, comprometidas en acciones sociales originales, que la Social Enterprise Knowledge Network (SEKN, Red de Conocimientos sobre Emprendimientos Sociales) ha estudiado con todo detalle.

Nonprofits and businesses are converging - in the value they create, the stakeholders they manage, the organizations they form, and the financial instruments they use., Stanford Social Innovation Review, 5(1), 24-31

Contextualización sobre la responsabilidad social corporativa en América Latina y sus perspectivas futuras

The core purpose of social enterprise is to create value for the betterment of society. This aim lies at the center of the framework and is the end toward which all other elements in the framework must contribute. Greater alignment of these elements with the central purpose produces higher organizational coherence which contributes to superior performance.

En América Latina y el Caribe está aún muy arraigada la idea de que las empresas deben dedicarse exclusivamente a las actividades económicas, mientras que el Estado, las organizaciones no gubernamentales o la Iglesia son las instituciones encargadas del bienestar social. Este libro presenta otro enfoque, con diferentes casos de colaboración entre el sector privado y organizaciones de la sociedad civil, donde las motivaciones privadas y la preocupación social se entrelazaron para emprender proyectos que producen utilidades que benefician directamente a la comunidad. Los líderes empresariales, políticos y sociales encontrarán en este compendio una gran ayuda para establecer nuevas alianzas sociales que contribuyan a mejorar la calidad de vida de miles de personas.