Sensemaking the ‘social’ in social entrepreneurship

In the collective imagination, the practices and outcomes of social entrepreneurship seem to hold hope for a better future. So far, these practices have been largely assumed as idealised types with the ‘social’ in social entrepreneurship underexplored. Such assumed neutrality, we argue, is hampering...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International small business journal Vol. 36; no. 8; pp. 859 - 886
Main Authors: Kimmitt, Jonathan, Muñoz, Pablo
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.12.2018
Sage Publications Ltd
Subjects:
Appreciation
Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship
Imagination
Neutrality
Sensemaking
Social entrepreneurship
Social justice
Social problems
institutions
social entrepreneurship
realisation
sensemaking
poverty
social justice
ISSN:0266-2426, 1741-2870
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In the collective imagination, the practices and outcomes of social entrepreneurship seem to hold hope for a better future. So far, these practices have been largely assumed as idealised types with the ‘social’ in social entrepreneurship underexplored. Such assumed neutrality, we argue, is hampering the development of a more robust theoretical corpus for understanding the phenomenon and inspiring practices that are more effective. In this article, we analyse the sensemaking of the social in social entrepreneurship by exploring the ways in which social entrepreneurs make sense of social problems and develop solutions for addressing them. Our empirical analyses of the stories of 15 social entrepreneurs indicate two distinct types of sensemaking and sensegiving practices, aligned with Amartya Sen’s notions of social justice. Drawing on these findings, sensemaking and social justice theory, we elaborate a two-type social sensemaking model pertaining to the appreciation and assessment of circumstances and the differing problem/solution combinations emerging from alternative ontological views of what constitutes a social problem.
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ISSN:0266-2426
1741-2870
DOI:10.1177/0266242618789230