IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v159y2019i3d10.1007_s10551-018-3794-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Towards an Appreciation of Ethics in Social Enterprise Business Models

Author

Listed:
  • Mike Bull

    (Manchester Metropolitan University)

  • Rory Ridley-Duff

    (Sheffield Hallam University)

Abstract

How can a critical analysis of entrepreneurial intention inform an appreciation of ethics in social enterprise business models? In answering this question, we consider the ethical commitments that inform entrepreneurial action (inputs) and the hybrid organisations that emerge out of these commitments and actions (outputs). Ethical theory can be a useful way to reorient the field of social enterprise so that it is more critical of bureaucratic (charitable) and market-driven (business) enterprises connected to neoliberal doctrine. Social enterprise hybrid business models are therefore reframed as outcomes of both ethical and entrepreneurial intentions. We challenge the dominant conceptualisation of social enterprise as a hybrid blend of mission and market (purpose-versus-resource) by reframing hybridity in terms of the moral choice of economic system (redistribution, reciprocity and market) and social value orientation (personal, mutual or public benefit). We deconstruct the political foundations of charitable trading activities, co-operative and mutual enterprises and socially responsible businesses by examining the rationalities (formal, social and substantive) and ethical commitments (utilitarian, communitarian, pragmatic) that underpin them. Whilst conceptual modelling of social enterprise is not new, this paper contributes to knowledge by developing a theory of social enterprise ethics based on the moral/political choices that are made by entrepreneurs (knowingly and unknowingly) when choosing between systems of economic exchange and social value orientation, then expressing it through a legal form.

Suggested Citation

  • Mike Bull & Rory Ridley-Duff, 2019. "Towards an Appreciation of Ethics in Social Enterprise Business Models," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(3), pages 619-634, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:159:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s10551-018-3794-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-018-3794-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-018-3794-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-018-3794-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John O. Ogbor, 2000. "Mythicizing and Reification in Entrepreneurial Discourse: Ideology‐Critique of Entrepreneurial Studies," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(5), pages 605-635, July.
    2. Roger Spear & Chris Cornforth & Mike Aiken, 2009. "The Governance Challenges Of Social Enterprises: Evidence From A Uk Empirical Study," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 80(2), pages 247-273, June.
    3. Carroll, Archie B., 1991. "The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 39-48.
    4. Pascal Dey & Chris Steyaert, 2016. "Rethinking the Space of Ethics in Social Entrepreneurship: Power, Subjectivity, and Practices of Freedom," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(4), pages 627-641, February.
    5. Johanna Mair & Ignasi Marti, 2006. "Social Entrepreneurship Research: A Source of Explanation, Prediction, and Delight," Post-Print hal-02311880, HAL.
    6. Pascal Dey & Chris Steyaert, 2010. "The politics of narrating social entrepreneurship," Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 4(1), pages 85-108, March.
    7. Jacques Defourny & Marthe Nyssens, 2010. "Conceptions of Social Enterprise and Social Entrepreneurship in Europe and the United States: Convergences and Divergences," Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(1), pages 32-53, March.
    8. Alex Nicholls, 2010. "The Institutionalization of Social Investment: The Interplay of Investment Logics and Investor Rationalities," Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(1), pages 70-100, March.
    9. Daniel Hjorth, 2013. "Public entrepreneurship: desiring social change, creating sociality," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(1-2), pages 34-51, January.
    10. Victor J. Friedman & Helena Desivilya, 2010. "Integrating social entrepreneurship and conflict engagement for regional development in divided societies," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(6), pages 495-514, October.
    11. Rory Ridley‐Duff, 2007. "Communitarian Perspectives on Social Enterprise," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 382-392, March.
    12. Ester Barinaga, 2013. "Politicising Social Entrepreneurship -- Three Social Entrepreneurial Rationalities Toward Social Change," Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(3), pages 347-372, November.
    13. A Amin & A Cameron & R Hudson, 1999. "Welfare as Work? The Potential of the UK Social Economy," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 31(11), pages 2033-2051, November.
    14. M. Tina Dacin & Peter A. Dacin & Paul Tracey, 2011. "Social Entrepreneurship: A Critique and Future Directions," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(5), pages 1203-1213, October.
    15. Elizabeth Chell & Laura J. Spence & Francesco Perrini & Jared D. Harris, 2016. "Social Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics: Does Social Equal Ethical?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(4), pages 619-625, February.
    16. Sigmund Wagner-Tsukamoto, 2007. "Moral Agency, Profits and the Firm: Economic Revisions to the Friedman Theorem," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 70(2), pages 209-220, January.
    17. Iain Davies & Bob Doherty & Simon Knox, 2010. "The Rise and Stall of a Fair Trade Pioneer: The Cafédirect Story," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 92(1), pages 127-147, March.
    18. Mair, Johanna & Martí, Ignasi, 2006. "Social entrepreneurship research: A source of explanation, prediction, and delight," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 36-44, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wai Wai Ko & Gordon Liu, 2021. "The Transformation from Traditional Nonprofit Organizations to Social Enterprises: An Institutional Entrepreneurship Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(1), pages 15-32, June.
    2. Pradeep Kumar Hota, 2023. "Tracing the Intellectual Evolution of Social Entrepreneurship Research: Past Advances, Current Trends, and Future Directions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(3), pages 637-659, January.
    3. Tykkyläinen, Saila & Ritala, Paavo, 2021. "Business model innovation in social enterprises: An activity system perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 684-697.
    4. Hota, Pradeep Kumar & Bhatt, Babita & Qureshi, Israr, 2023. "Institutional work to navigate ethical dilemmas: Evidence from a social enterprise," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(1).
    5. Nitha Palakshappa & Sarah Dodds & Suzanne Grant, 2024. "Tension and Paradox in Women-Oriented Sustainable Hybrid Organizations: A Duality of Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 190(2), pages 327-346, March.
    6. Mohammad Daradkeh, 2023. "Navigating the Complexity of Entrepreneurial Ethics: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-30, July.
    7. F. Vendrell-Herrero & M. Opazo-Basáez & Josip Marić, 2023. "Open and Social: Portraying the Resilient, Social and Competitive, Upcoming Enterprise," Post-Print hal-04434045, HAL.
    8. Muhammad Yunus & Mario Biggeri & Enrico Testi, 2021. "Social Economy and Social Business Supporting Policies for Sustainable Human Development in a Post-COVID-19 World," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-14, November.
    9. Iana Shaheen & Arash Azadegan & Donna F. Davis, 2023. "Resource Scarcity and Humanitarian Social Innovation: Observations from Hunger Relief in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(3), pages 597-617, January.
    10. Hsiu‐Hua Chang & Wei‐Jen Chuang, 2021. "Encourage stakeholder engagement in sustainable development: Drivers of consumers themselves benefits and society welfares," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 748-762, March.
    11. Giorgio Mion & Cristian R. Loza Adaui, 2020. "Understanding the purpose of benefit corporations: an empirical study on the Italian case," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1-15, December.
    12. Francisco J. Rincón Roldán & Álvaro López Cabrales, 2019. "Ethical values in Social Economy, Human Resource Management Practices and Sustainability," Working Papers 19.05, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Business Organization and Marketing (former Department of Business Administration).
    13. Andreana Drencheva & Wee Chan Au, 2023. "Bringing the Family Logic in: From Duality to Plurality in Social Enterprises," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(1), pages 77-93, January.
    14. Christiana Weber & Helen Haugh & Markus Göbel & Hannes Leonardy, 2022. "Pathways to Lasting Cross-Sector Social Collaboration: A Configurational Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(3), pages 613-639, May.
    15. David Monciardini & Laura Rocca & Monica Veneziani, 2024. "Virtuous circles: Transformative impact and challenges of the social and solidarity circular economy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 642-660, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pradeep Kumar Hota & Balaji Subramanian & Gopalakrishnan Narayanamurthy, 2020. "Mapping the Intellectual Structure of Social Entrepreneurship Research: A Citation/Co-citation Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 166(1), pages 89-114, September.
    2. Pradeep Kumar Hota, 2023. "Tracing the Intellectual Evolution of Social Entrepreneurship Research: Past Advances, Current Trends, and Future Directions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(3), pages 637-659, January.
    3. Adélie Ranville & Marcos Barros, 2022. "Towards Normative Theories of Social Entrepreneurship. A Review of the Top Publications of the Field," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(2), pages 407-438, October.
    4. Karin Kreutzer, 2022. "On the Discursive Construction of Social Entrepreneurship in Pitch Situations: The Intertextual Reproduction of Business and Social Discourse by Presenters and Their Audience," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(4), pages 1071-1090, September.
    5. Murat ŞENTÜRK & Enver MENGÜ, 2020. "Social Entrepreneurship From Sociological Perspective," Journal of Economy Culture and Society, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 61(1), pages 355-369, June.
    6. Maria Margarida Avillez & Andrew Greenman & Susan Marlow, 2020. "Ethical Judgments About Social Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Influence of Spatio-Cultural Meanings," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 161(4), pages 877-892, February.
    7. Chris Mason & Bob Doherty, 2016. "A Fair Trade-off? Paradoxes in the Governance of Fair-trade Social Enterprises," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(3), pages 451-469, July.
    8. Xiangping Jia & Geoffrey Desa, 2020. "Social entrepreneurship and impact investment in rural–urban transformation: An orientation to systemic social innovation and symposium findings," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(4), pages 1217-1239, December.
    9. Pascal Dey & Othmar Lehner, 2017. "Registering Ideology in the Creation of Social Entrepreneurs: Intermediary Organizations, ‘Ideal Subject’ and the Promise of Enjoyment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(4), pages 753-767, June.
    10. Paola Bernardi & Alberto Bertello & Canio Forliano & Ludovico Bullini Orlandi, 2022. "Beyond the “ivory tower”. Comparing academic and non-academic knowledge on social entrepreneurship," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 999-1032, September.
    11. Murat ŞENTÜRK & Enver MENGÜ, 2020. "Social Entrepreneurship From Sociological Perspective," Journal of Economy Culture and Society, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 61(0), pages 355-369, June.
    12. Barbara Bradač Hojnik & Katja Crnogaj, 2020. "Social Impact, Innovations, and Market Activity of Social Enterprises: Comparison of European Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-15, March.
    13. Shr-Wei Kao & Pin Luarn, 2020. "Topic Modeling Analysis of Social Enterprises: Twitter Evidence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-20, April.
    14. Saskia Crucke & Adelien Decramer, 2016. "The Development of a Measurement Instrument for the Organizational Performance of Social Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-30, February.
    15. Walter Mswaka & Olu Aluko, 2014. "Legal structure and outcomes of social enterprise: The case of South Yorkshire, UK," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 29(8), pages 810-825, December.
    16. Nuria Toledano, 2020. "Promoting Ethical Reflection in the Teaching of Social Entrepreneurship: A Proposal Using Religious Parables," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 115-132, June.
    17. Kai Hockerts, 2017. "Determinants of Social Entrepreneurial Intentions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(1), pages 105-130, January.
    18. Lall, Saurabh Ajay, 2019. "From Legitimacy to Learning – How Impact Measurement Perceptions and Practices Evolve in Social Enterprise – Social Finance Organization Relationships," SocArXiv 7z8nc, Center for Open Science.
    19. Bolzani, Daniela & Marabello, Selenia & Honig, Benson, 2020. "Exploring the multi-level processes of legitimacy in transnational social enterprises," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(3).
    20. Stefano Cosma & Alessandro G. Grasso & Francesco Pagliacci & Alessia Pedrazzoli, 2018. "Is Equity Crowdfunding a Good Tool for Social Enterprises?," Centro Studi di Banca e Finanza (CEFIN) (Center for Studies in Banking and Finance) 18022, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Dipartimento di Economia "Marco Biagi".

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:159:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s10551-018-3794-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.