A Resource dependence perspective on crowdfunded social enterprises

Succeeding as a social enterprise is challenging because its performance, legitimacy, and autonomy emerge from the social-economic tensions inherent in its operation. Social enterprises tend to shield themselves from external demands and pressures if they fail to fulfil their dual mission, creating challenges in resource acquisitions. Accordingly, such challenges fundamentally change the relationship between social enterprises and resource providers. Therefore, social enterprises often struggle to acquire resources; thus, they need innovative forms of resource acquisition. By adapting resource dependence theory and data collected from social enterprises, this study investigates the role of reward-based crowdfunding in social enterprises’ performance and how the legitimacy and autonomy of social enterprises mediate such a relationship. The findings show that reward-based crowdfunding does not directly or indirectly shape the performance of social enterprises. Nevertheless, the findings indicate that crowdfunding increases the legitimacy of social enterprises. Moreover, although crowdfunding does not appear to be related to the autonomy of social enterprises, autonomy itself supports the social and innovation performance of social enterprises. Thus, this study challenges the expected positive role of crowdfunding in social enterprises’ performance but shows that crowdfunding continues to benefit social enterprises as it increases their legitimacy. Theoretically, this study suggests legitimacy can be an end in itself for social enterprises. These results support a characterisation of resource dependence theory as a sociological theory in which establishing social acceptability is important in its own right. However, the findings contradict the view of resource dependence theory as a theory of organisational performance. The missing link between resource acquisition, legitimacy, and performance suggests that resource dependence theory can explain organisational actions with societal acceptance rather than financial performance. Moreover, the findings indicate that autonomy is an essential characteristic of social enterprises allowing organisations to pursue different goals, which can protect against potential mission drift. Correspondingly, the study contributes to practices by showing that reward-based crowdfunding is a practical utility that can solve managerial problems related to attaining legitimacy. This study shows that crowdfunding is still a fledgling field for enabling social entrepreneurship; therefore, this study contributes to the current societal and governmental discussions on the financial inclusion of social enterprises within social economy policies.Resurssiriippuvuusteoreettinen näkökulma joukkorahoitettuihin yhteiskunnallisiin yrityksiin Yhteiskunnallisen yrityksen menestyminen on haastavaa, koska sen tuloksellisuus, legitimiteetti ja autonomia rakentuvat sen toimintaan sisältyvistä sosioekonomisista jännitteistä. Yhteiskunnalliset yritykset pyrkivät suojautumaan ulkoisilta vaatimuksista ja paineilta, jos ne eivät täytä taloudellista ja yhteiskunnallista kaksoisrooliaan, mikä luo haasteita resurssien hankintaan. Tällaiset haasteet muuttavat perusteellisesti yhteiskunnallisten yritysten ja resurssien tarjoajien välisiä suhteita. Yhteiskunnallisilla yrityksillä on usein vaikeuksia hankkia resursseja ja ne siksi tarvitsevat innovatiivisia keinoja resurssien hankkimiseksi. Resurssiriippuvuusteoriaa ja yhteiskunnallisilta yrityksiltä kerättyä tutkimusaineistoa yhdistämällä tässä tutkimuksessa tutkitaan palkkioperusteisen joukkorahoituksen roolia yhteiskunnallisten yritysten menestyksessä ja miten yritysten legitimiteetti ja autonomia välittävät tätä roolia. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat, että palkkioperusteinen joukkorahoitus ei suoraan tai välillisesti muokkaa yhteiskunnallisten yritysten menestystä. Tulokset kuitenkin osoittavat, että palkkioperusteinen joukkorahoitus lisää yhteiskunnallisten yritysten legitimiteettiä. Lisäksi vaikka joukkorahoitus ei näytä vaikuttavan yhteiskunnallisten yritysten autonomiaan, autonomia itsessään tukee yritysten sosiaalista ja innovaatiokyvykkyyttä. Tulostensa myötä tämä tutkimus haastaa joukkorahoituksen oletettua myönteistä roolia yhteiskunnallisten yritysten menestymisessä, mutta osoittaa, että palkkioperusteinen joukkorahoitus hyödyttää yhteiskunnallisia yrityksiä vahvistamalla niiden legitimiteettiä. Teoreettisesti tutkimus osoittaakin, että legitimiteetin saavuttaminen voi olla päämäärä yhteiskunnallisille yrityksille. Siten tulokset tukevat resurssiriippuvuusteorian luonnehdintaa sosiologiseksi teoriaksi, joka korostaa sosiaalisen hyväksyttävyyden vahvistamista. Tutkimuksen havainnot ovat kuitenkin myös ristiriidassa resurssiriippuvuusteorian näkemyksen kanssa organisaation menestymisen teoriana. Puuttuva linkki resurssien hankinnan, legitimiteetin ja organisaation menestyksen välillä viittaa siihen, että resurssiriippuvuusteoria voi selittää organisaation toimintaa, jolla on yhteiskunnallinen hyväksyntä taloudellisen menestymisen sijaan. Lisäksi tutkimuksen havainnot viittaavat siihen, että autonomia on yhteiskunnallisten yritysten olennainen ominaisuus, jonka ansiosta ne voivat saavuttaa erilaisia tavoitteita, jotka puolestaan voivat suojata yrityksiä mahdolliselta toiminnan tavoitteiden muutoksilta. Näin ollen tämä tutkimus osoittaa käytännön suosituksena, että palkkioperusteinen joukkorahoitus voi ratkaista organisaation legitimiteetin saavuttamiseen liittyviä johtamishaasteita. Lisäksi tutkimus osoittaa, että joukkorahoitus on vielä kehittyvä ala yhteiskunnallisen yrittäjyyden mahdollistajana, ja siksi tutkimuksen tulokset edistävät nykyistä yhteiskunnallista ja poliittista keskustelua yhteiskunnallisten yritysten taloudellisesta osallisuudesta talous- ja sosiaalipolitiikassa

Le développement durable est-il bienvenu dans les organisations ? Cas de l’implantation d’un Système de Management Environnemental en Tunisie

Les entreprises sociétalement responsables sont celles qui s’inscrivent dans une logique de développement durable. Leur engagement se matérialise, notamment, par le déploiement de systèmes de gestion respectueux de l’environnement tels que les systèmes de management environnemental (SME). En plus de leur portée écologique, ces derniers ont une visée sociale puisqu’ils permettent d’améliorer les conditions de travail des opérateurs. Toutefois, leur mise en place peut être gênée par ces derniers s’ils ne retrouvent pas leurs intérêts lors de l’instauration d’un tel système. L’objectif de ce texte est d’étayer cette idée à partir de l’étude de cas d’une entreprise tunisienne où l’instauration d’un SME n’a pu aboutir en partie à cause de la résistance du personnel. Dans ce sens, nous appuierons l’idée selon laquelle les pratiques du Développement Durable et de la Responsabilité Sociale de l’Entreprise ne se greffent pas ex abrupto sur une entreprise mais nécessitent certains préalables d’ordre organisationnel pour être mis en place.Socially responsible firms are the ones which act in accordance to sustainable development logic. Their engagement is materialised by deploying environment friendly practices such as environmental management system (EMS). Those systems have also a social purpose in the way that they allow enhancing work conditions of operators. However, their setting could be embarrassed by those ones because of the change of habits that it implies for them. The purpose of this study is to shore up this idea by resorting to a case study of a Tunisian firm in which the setting of the environmental management system turned failed in part because of the resistance of the personnel. We will defend the idea that practices of sustainable development and corporate social responsibilities couldn’t be correctly adopted by firms without taking into consideration to some organizational priors

Creating change through social entrepreneurship: the case of girls’ school dropouts in Uganda

Subject areaThis case focusses on social innovation and social entrepreneurship in Africa, specifically looking at behavioural characteristics of social entrepreneurs, their motivations to create social value and the application of personal initiative theory. The case discusses the self-starting proactiveness and innovation traits of the social entrepreneur. The social business model canvas will be used to analyse the social enterprise’s business model.Study level/applicabilityStudents of social entrepreneurship, development studies, sustainable livelihoods and asset-based development. It is useful for customised or short programmes on social entrepreneurship or for students with a background in business wanting to understand social enterprise as a vehicle for social and economic change. As such, this case is written for Business Management and Entrepreneurship undergraduates or students of elective courses in social entrepreneurship (“understanding” and “remembering” learning activities under Bloom’s taxonomy). When personal initiative theory is used, the case provides an initial understanding of social entrepreneurship in a less developed context for post-graduate students and may be used for higher-order learning activities (“analysing” and “applying”).Case overviewThe case tells the story of Dr Engr Moses Musaazi, who is a Social Entrepreneur and Managing Director of Technology for Tomorrow (T4T). Troubled with the persistent social problems in his country. Musaazi, through T4T, strived for social innovations to reduce school dropouts of Ugandan girls. While exploring Moses’ journey for solving persistent social problems through social innovations, students will be able to understand, remember, analyse and apply Dees’ (2001) social entrepreneurial behaviours and Santos’ (2012) theory of social entrepreneurship. The case discusses what motivates African social entrepreneurs to start a social venture (Ghalwash, Tolba, & Ismail, 2017). Students will apply personal initiative theory to identify the social entrepreneurial behaviours displayed in the creation of social ventures. To exemplify and analyse the different components of social ventures’ business model, the social business model canvas by Sparviero (2019) will be introduced.Expected learning outcomesThe teaching objectives are Objective 1. Students are able to remember, understand, identify and apply the social entrepreneurial behaviours as defined by Dees (2001) and the elements of Santos’ (2012) theory of social entrepreneurship to Dr Moses Musaazi’s case as a social entrepreneur. Objective 2. Students remember, understand and identify what motivates social entrepreneurs in less developed economies to create social value (Ghalwash et al., 2017). Objective 3. Early-stage postgraduate students are able to apply and analyse (also evaluate and create for higher-level post-graduates) personal initiative theory to explain the emergence of social entrepreneurial behaviour and especially how innovation, self-starting and proactiveness may lead to social entrepreneurial venture start-up (Frese, Kring, Soose, & Zempel, 1996). Objective 4. Students use the social business model canvas (Sparviero, 2019) as a tool to understand, analyse and improve a social-enterprise business model.Supplementary materialsSupplementary learning materials are provided in the Teaching Note (Table 1). Table1, which includes videos and their description. Also, a link to Uganda’s sustainable development index is provided (the focus is sustainable development goals [SDGs] 3: Good health and well-being, SDG 4: Quality Education, SDG 5: Gender equality, SDG 10: Reduced inequalities).</div

Evaluation of the Inter and Intra-Observer Reliability of the AO Classification of Intertrochanteric Fractures and the Device Choice (DHS, PFNA, and DCS) of Fixations

BACKGROUND:ArbeitsgemeinschaftfürOsteosynthesefragen (AO) classification is the most frequently used tool to classify intertrochanteric fractures. However, there is limited evidence regarding its reliability. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate inter-observer and intra-observer reliability of the AO-2018 intertrochanteric fracture classification.METHOD: A retrospective study was conducted in Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, on radiography of patients who came with intertrochanteric fractures from March 21, 2018, to March 19, 2019. Four orthopedic trauma surgeons assessed 96 anteroposterior pelvic radiographs of intertrochanteric fractures and classified using an AO intertrochanteric fracture classification of 2018. The reading and review of radiography were performed in 2 separate occasions in a 1-month interval. The inter-observer and intra-observer reliability was assessed using kappa statistics.RESULT: The level of both mean inter-observer (K =0.322; 95%CI: 0.321-0.323) and intra-observer agreement (K =0.317; 95%CI: 0.314-0.320) in AO intertrochanteric fracture classification subgrouping were not satisfactory. The inter-observer (K =0.61; 95%CI: 0.608-0.611) and intra-observers’ (K=0.560;95%CI: 0.544-0.566) reliability in AO main groupings showed moderate agreement.CONCLUSION: The AO classification does not show adequate and acceptable inter-observer and intra-observer reliability and reproducibility. Therefore, it will be hard to base on the AO classification for treatment protocols

Social enterprise crowdfunding in an acute crisis

Social enterprises can play a pivotal role in mitigating the negative effects of major crises if these ventures are able to attract enough funding for their activities. Our research reflects on the experiences of a UK-based crowdfunding platform, UpEffect, to develop understanding of the key challenges for social enterprise crowdfunding at the time of COVID-19. Specially, we offer and synthesize three perspectives (social enterprises, funding crowd, and crowdfunding platforms) to illuminate key strategies that crowdfunding platforms, like UpEffect, can employ to support social enterprises in enacting solutions for COVID-19 affected people and communities.</p

Social enterprise crowdfunding in an acute crisis

Social enterprises can play a pivotal role in mitigating the negative effects of major crises if these ventures are able to attract enough funding for their activities. Our research reflects on the experiences of a UK-based crowdfunding platform, UpEffect, to develop understanding of the key challenges for social enterprise crowdfunding at the time of COVID-19. Specially, we offer and synthesize three perspectives (social enterprises, funding crowd, and crowdfunding platforms) to illuminate key strategies that crowdfunding platforms, like UpEffect, can employ to support social enterprises in enacting solutions for COVID-19 affected people and communities.The University of Turku, Finland Graduate School (2020) and the Academy of Finland (AoF).http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbvihj2021Economic

The sample of choice for detecting Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in asymptomatic dromedary camels using real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction

The newly identified Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which causes severe respiratory disease, particularly in people with comorbidities, requires further investigation. Studies in Qatar and elsewhere have provided evidence that dromedary camels are a reservoir for the virus, but the exact modes of transmission of MERS-CoV to humans remain unclear. In February 2014, an assessment was made of the suitability and sensitivity of different types of sample for the detection of MERS-CoV by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for three gene targets: UpE (upstream of the E gene), the N (nucleocapsid) gene and open reading frame (ORF) 1a. Fifty-three animals presented for slaughter were sampled. A high percentage of the sampled camels (79% [95% confidence interval 66.9-91.5%, standard error 0.0625]; 42 out of 53) were shown to be shedding MERS-CoV at the time of slaughter, yet all the animals were apparently healthy. Among the virus-positive animals, nasal swabs were most often positive (97.6%). Oral swabs were the second most frequently positive (35.7%), followed by rectal swabs (28.5%). In addition, the highest viral load, expressed as a cycle threshold (Ct) value of 11.27, was obtained from a nasal swab. These findings lead to the conclusion that nasal swabs are the candidate sample of choice for detecting MERS-CoV using RT-PCR technology in apparently healthy camels

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in dromedary camels: An outbreak investigation

Background: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes severe lower respiratory tract infection in people. Previous studies suggested dromedary camels were a reservoir for this virus. We tested for the presence of MERS-CoV in dromedary camels from a farm in Qatar linked to two human cases of the infection in October, 2013. Methods: We took nose swabs, rectal swabs, and blood samples from all camels on the Qatari farm. We tested swabs with RT-PCR, with amplification targeting the E gene (upE), nucleocapsid (N) gene, and open reading frame (ORF) 1a. PCR positive samples were tested by different MERS-CoV specific PCRs and obtained sequences were used for phylogentic analysis together with sequences from the linked human cases and other human cases. We tested serum samples from the camels for IgG immunofluorescence assay, protein microarray, and virus neutralisation assay. Findings: We obtained samples from 14 camels on Oct 17, 2013. We detected MERS-CoV in nose swabs from three camels by three independent RT-PCRs and sequencing. The nucleotide sequence of an ORF1a fragment (940 nucleotides) and a 4·2 kb concatenated fragment were very similar to the MERS-CoV from two human cases on the same farm and a MERS-CoV isolate from Hafr-Al-Batin. Eight additional camel nose swabs were positive on one or more RT-PCRs, but could not be confirmed by sequencing. All camels had MERS-CoV spike-binding antibodies that correlated well with the presence of neutralising antibodies to MERS-CoV. Interpretation: Our study provides virological confirmation of MERS-CoV in camels and suggests a recent outbreak affecting both human beings and camels. We cannot conclude whether the people on the farm were infected by the camels or vice versa, or if a third source was responsible. Funding: European Union projects EMPERIE (contract number 223498), ANTIGONE (contract number 278976), and the VIRGO consortium