African perspectives on researching social entrepreneurship

PURPOSE – Context matters in social entrepreneurship, and it matters a lot. Social entrepreneurs are deeply entrenched in the context where they operate: they respond to its challenges, are shaped by it, and attempt to shape it in turn. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how social entrepreneurship in Africa is still understood within the scope of Western theories, without much consideration for local variations of the commonly shared archetype of social entrepreneurship or for how African norms, values and beliefs may shape our common understanding of this phenomenon. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH – The authors survey the often-neglected literature on social entrepreneurship in Africa and bring it together in this paper to discuss – also from the vantage point of their own experience and research in diverse African countries – how important assumptions in the social entrepreneurship literature are confirmed, enriched or challenged by key dimensions of African contexts. FINDINGS – Four important themes in the literature on social entrepreneurship in Africa emerged – institutions, embedding values, entrepreneurial behaviour and bricolage and scaling impact – each with its own considerations of how African contexts may challenge predominant assumptions in the extant social entrepreneurship literature, as well as implications for future research. ORIGINALITY/VALUE – The authors uncover ways in which the peculiarities of the African context may challenge the underlying – and mostly implicit – assumptions that have shaped the definition and analysis of social entrepreneurship. They end by offering their understanding of social entrepreneurship and its concomitant dimensions in Africa as a stepping stone for advancing the field in the continent and beyond.The workshop that led to this paper was possible because of the generous support from the University of Pretoria, the University of Cape Town and the African Network of Social Entrepreneurship Scholars (with funding from VLIR-UOS for a joint project between the University of Pretoria and KU Leuven).https://www.emerald.com/insight/1750-8614.htmam2024EconomicsSDG-08:Decent work and economic growt

Resource Orchestration Process in the Limited-Resource Environment: The Social Bricolage Perspective

The process of resource mobilisation is fundamental in the creation of social value. However, the evidence that examines the approaches used by social entrepreneurs to mobilise critical resources in an environment with poor resources is limited. This study empirically explores social bricolage in the new research context of developing countries, building on the notion of ‘social bricolage’). This abductive, multiple-case study adopts the qualitative methodological approach, using empirical data on five social enterprises in Egypt through in-depth interviews with industry experts, social entrepreneurs, and other management teams. Our study advances scholarly understanding of social bricolage by examining resource mobilisation processes over time in the resource-scarce context of developing countries. Our analysis traces the six social bricolage constructs: making do, refusal to be constrained by limitations, improvisation, the creation of social value, stakeholder participation, and persuasion and community involvement. Our empirical data identifies three more constructs associated with social bricolage: distributed leadership/teamwork, dynamic capabilities, and legitimacy (trust and reputation)

The Rise of Sustainable Consumerism: Evidence from the Egyptian Generation Z

Sustainable consumerism is a topic that is still being explored and developed across nations and countries. A new generation of consumers and the world’s future leaders—Generation Z—have already begun to change the marketing and consumer landscape and have accelerated the means to achieve sustainable development. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Generation Z remains unexplored and ambiguous. The purpose of this article is to gain an understanding of the behavioral aspects of the Egyptian Generation Z, their consumerism, ecological consciousness, and corporate expectations. This exploratory research adopted qualitative methods using in-depth semi-structured interviews with a selected sample of participants representing the Egyptian Generation Z. The findings reveal an infantile but informed and reactive market of consumers whose acts of marketing and branding decisions contribute to reaching corporate sustainability, despite the fact they are viewed as nescient in the broader global community. This research provides the first evidence on the Egyptian Generation Z and their behavior towards sustainable consumerism in a new context of developing countries

The Rise of Sustainable Consumerism: Evidence from the Egyptian Generation Z

Sustainable consumerism is a topic that is still being explored and developed across nations and countries. A new generation of consumers and the world’s future leaders—Generation Z—have already begun to change the marketing and consumer landscape and have accelerated the means to achieve sustainable development. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Generation Z remains unexplored and ambiguous. The purpose of this article is to gain an understanding of the behavioral aspects of the Egyptian Generation Z, their consumerism, ecological consciousness, and corporate expectations. This exploratory research adopted qualitative methods using in-depth semi-structured interviews with a selected sample of participants representing the Egyptian Generation Z. The findings reveal an infantile but informed and reactive market of consumers whose acts of marketing and branding decisions contribute to reaching corporate sustainability, despite the fact they are viewed as nescient in the broader global community. This research provides the first evidence on the Egyptian Generation Z and their behavior towards sustainable consumerism in a new context of developing countries

Scarabaeus Sacer: an iconic green brand advocating sustainability in the era of digital economy and connectivity

Learning outcomes can only be achieved through using case-based pedagogy. Instructors must encourage students to dive deeply into the case dilemma, so they are able to engage with the case objectives and questions, applying the appropriate theory. By doing so, students can provide solutions based on five core objectives. These are the objectives that students should learn after completing the case discussio

Institutional Change:The Power of Collective Action

Institutional entrepreneurship is central to institutional change. We argue the unfolding institutional change process arises from collaborative practices involving institutional entrepreneurs and other organizations in the field. In that, we examine how institutional entrepreneurs, collectively with other actors, change their embedded institutions. To do so, we draw on an in-depth qualitative study of efforts to change the traditional payment institution in Egypt from cash to digital. We present a model of the institutional change process that highlights the multilevel nature of the entrepreneurial and organizational practices that enable and foster this change, showing that it entails institutional practices at the micro-,meso, and macrolevels. This research contributes to the literature by examining how institutional entrepreneurs change their institutions over time, highlighting the embeddedness of agency in the change they create; The power of collaborations, collective action, and relations; and the resulting institutional change for the society at large.</p

Women's self-employment intentions after global shocks: insights from Egypt and Spain

We compare the self-employment intentions of women from different contexts, namely, Egypt and Spain after two recent incidents of global economic collapse - the 2008 global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. We draw on occupational choice and human capital theories to better understand how the self-employment intentions of women with different age, perceptual and human capital profiles vary in periods of crisis. Consistent with previous studies, the results suggest that intentions of self-employment vary with the specific perceptual and human capital attributes of women. However, the macroeconomic conditions and the context matter since the findings also show that the factors that drive the self-employment intention of women differ from one global shock to another. Moreover, the impact of each global shock in every context is different. These findings provide new guidance for policymakers by acknowledging the relevance of the heterogeneity of women, economic periods and contexts to the choice of self-employment

Up-Fuse: International growth of an Egyptian eco-friendly social enterprise

The case is meant as a way for students to develop ideas related to the challenges facing environmental eco-friendly social enterprises that sell their products in a country like Egypt where consumers are way behind considering the value of their products. In response to these challenges, students learn to evaluate the company status quo by analyzing its weaknesses, strengths and opportunities to grow and expand geographically to a new market. Students also learn about the growth expansion strategies and internationalization modes, options and associated barriers. Accordingly, they can plan the marketing strategies associated with entering this new market for up-cycled products. Objective 1: Analyze the international geographical growth alternative for an enterprise that improves its scalability applying weaknesses, strengths, threats and opportunities analysis. Objective 2: Propose a strategic plan for growth and scalability. Objective 3: Discuss the various modes of doing business in foreign countries. Recommend an internationalization mode for a social enterprise to explore in a new market. Objective 4: Assess the possible barriers associated with internationalization modes and how to overcome them. Objective 5: Propose marketing strategies for an eco-friendly enterprise to enhance its efficiency and effectiveness in the international host market. Other topics that might be discussed in this case include consumer behavior toward environmentally friendly products. Pricing challenges faced by ecologically friendly firms in developing countries