Building smarter cities through social entrepreneurship

The objective of the present study is to examine the extent to which social ventures are able to increase the “smartness” of cities. To achieve this goal, we adopt a qualitative approach using a case study method to obtain valuable insights about different characteristics and strategies of Cais (a non-profit association dedicated to helping disadvantaged people in urban areas). Through our analysis of Cais’s activities, we assess whether its social interventions match the dimensions proposed by Giffinger et al. (2007) to rank smart cities’ performance; specifically, it has smart: economy, people, governance, mobility, environment, and living. The research shows that the action pursued comprises elements from all the above-mentioned dimensions. Further, the analysis reveals that Cais reinforces the smartness of the city in which it acts (in terms of attributes such as living, economy, people, and environment).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Social entrepreneurship: what people are looking for when they talk about it?

Social entrepreneurship is a new way of doing business and thus a new way of generating and delivering value to society. This study is a consolidation strategy to social entrepreneurship research field, providing an in-dept understanding of the concept and its diversity through the different approaches of social entrepreneurship support organizations - GSESO’s. It explores in what extent the fragmentation of the social entrepreneurship literature reflects the social entrepreneurship initiatives diversity. Content analysis was applied to the online material of the biggest GSESO. As a result, the study provides a benchmark for investors. It also helps social entrepreneurial initiatives [SEI] to better fit the investors’ expectations. Knowing what motivates an investment allow that fit. The core aim of GSESOs when choosing an investment are social change or social problems solution. The GSESOs invests in former social organizations capable to provide sustainable social impact. They rely on subjective criteria to choose where invest, with great focus on entrepreneur profile, on the prevalence of social mission and on the belief of a sustainable business model. The key business model elements considered are innovation and large-scale social impact through a replicable business model. It seems that the GSESOs investment strategy favor sustaining technologies and innovations that balance the market forces. The opportunity is exploited through social bricolage in a flexible, embedded and risk tolerant way. This business model can spread their social impact easily by replication. While the four GSESOs studied here support social entrepreneurship differently, they share the believe in the social entrepreneurship potential to improve human life and society development. They all work to expand and improve social entrepreneurship, in order of increase its power to act.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio