High Performance Social Entrepreneurship

Abstract:     
Social entrepreneurship is a global phenomenon bringing about positive change by innovative thinking and action. It impacts and intersects with all three constituents of civil society - business, government and the 'third' or social sector - to create new models of social impact.

The objective of this course is to explore the nature and range of social entrepreneurship in its international context. As a result, the focus of the course is broad, encompassing all of the key issues around the subject. Furthermore, the academic approach will be multi-disciplinary, since the field of social entrepreneurship is an emergent academic area, touching on strategy, marketing, finance, and organisational behaviour.

The course takes the form of lectures, discussions, and case studies. As well as academic analysis and framing of the issues the course includes a range of guest speakers from relevant organizations.

The first two weeks of the course establish the dimensions of social entrepreneurship ranging from not-for-profit ventures to social enterprises. Weeks four to six consider strategic issues for the successful development of socially entrepreneurial ventures, focussing particularly on: funding models; performance metrics; governance and organisational structures. Week seven considers the wider environment for social entrepreneurship, exploring the institutional and competitive context. Finally, week eight looks to the key issues facing the sector in the future.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 3

Keywords: social entrepreneurship, syllabi

working papers series