RESPONSIBLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP VISION DEVELOPMENT AND ETHICS

Social entrepreneurship and co-creation for sustainable business 233
Methodology
The analysis has been built by providing extensive literature review on the concepts of
social entrepreneurship and co-creation and their importance for the sustainable development
of enterprises. On this ground, through the deductive method of inferring and comparing similarities
and complementarities, the analysis establishes a link between different forms of social
entrepreneurship and co-creation. At its final stage, the paper builds a new theoretical model
of interaction between individuals, organizations and communities and introduces the concept
of “social co-creation”.
Social entrepreneurship as a form of sustainable business transformation
Social economics takes a major part in the European economy – approximately 2 million
social enterprises employ over 14 million workers, which represents almost 6,5% of the European
workforce. The concepts of social enterprise and social entrepreneurship are making
amazing breakthroughs in EU countries and the United States (Defourny & Nyssens, 2010).
What is more, it has been widely acknowledged that social enterprises are sustainable and
effective in times of crisis. Their social effect is mainly measured by the integration and reintegration
of marginalized and disabled people. Therefore, we should consider social economics
as a necessary factor in transforming the numerous deformities of society and economy today.
It assists in the process of establishing new business units, increasing the number of participators
on the market, creating new working places for people with disabilities and marginalized
groups.
There is certainly no consistency in definitions and little comparative analysis has been
done on the terms “entrepreneurship” and “social entrepreneurship” (Cukier, Trenholm, Carl
& Gekas, 2011). Therefore, strengthening the precision of definitions, exploring measures of
success, increasing the rigor of empirical research, and drawing on related disciplines would
strengthen the field of social entrepreneurship overall (Cukier et al., 2011), including clarification
of definitions and boundaries. Yet, it will also build a solid ground on which hybrid
models can be developed and implemented to join the efforts of both entrepreneurs and social
entrepreneurs. Such hybrid model is proposed in this analysis, which can further contribute
to the process of social value creation.
Abu-Saifan (2012) proposes the following definition for social entrepreneurship:
The social entrepreneur is a mission-driven individual who uses a set of entrepreneurial
behavior to deliver a social value to the less privileged, all through an entrepreneurial oriented
entity that is financially independent, self-sufficient, or sustainable.
This definition combines four factors that make social entrepreneurship distinct from other
forms of entrepreneurship:
1. The social entrepreneurs are mission driven. They are dedicated to serve their mission
of delivering a social value to the underserved.
2. The social entrepreneurs act entrepreneurially through a combination of characteristics
that set them apart from other types of entrepreneurs.
3. The social entrepreneurs act within entrepreneurially oriented organizations that have
a strong culture of innovation and openness.