Enacting entrepreneurship as social value creation

The social plays an important role in entrepreneurship, but one that is not well understood. We argue that the social conditions of entrepreneurs, as well as the social nature of opportunities, affect the entrepreneurial process. Hence it is conceptually useful to understand enterprise as socially s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International small business journal 2011-04, Vol.29 (2), p.135-151
Main Authors: Korsgaard, Steffen, Anderson, Alistair R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Community Development
Economic Development
Economic growth
Economics
Enterprises
Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship
Small and medium sized enterprises
Social Conditions
Social conditions & trends
Social impact
Social Values
Socioeconomic factors
Studies
Value
Value creation
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Summary:The social plays an important role in entrepreneurship, but one that is not well understood. We argue that the social conditions of entrepreneurs, as well as the social nature of opportunities, affect the entrepreneurial process. Hence it is conceptually useful to understand enterprise as socially situated. Accordingly, this article examines the enactment of a socialized opportunity to explore the process of entrepreneurial growth. We find that a conceptualization of social value creation usefully develops our understanding and challenges the view that economic growth is the only relevant outcome of entrepreneurship. Our case study shows how social value is created in multiple forms at different centres and on different levels: from individual self-realization over community development to broad societal impact. We also find complex interrelations between the different levels and centres, thus, we argue that entrepreneurship is as much a social as an economic phenomenon.
ISSN:0266-2426
1741-2870
DOI:10.1177/0266242610391936