Social Entrepreneurship in an Inclusive Business Model: A New Business Model for Sustainable Agroforestry

Business's role in society is expanding; they are held accountable not only for their (traditional) business conduct but also for institutional development that leads to alleviation of poverty as well as institutional development. The aim of the case study is to identify critical factors for the implementation of an inclusive business model. These factors are contextualized at a regional and local level as a part of an ongoing agro-food project. The forestry company's operations in Lao PDR, offers an understanding of challenges related to political, social and financial sourcing conditions in needs of an inclusive business model. Creating the shared values relates to creating job opportunities, embracing gender aspects and engaging in institutional development in marginalized communities. A key factor in the development is a social entrepreneur, who re-creates a new community of practice by coordinating corporate strategies with local and regional needs. This case study offers a narrative of the development of a new context bound business model that positively influences the development of a multinational enterprise, an industry, a local community and academic understanding of what might become a dominant discourse for industrial upgrade and sustainable development.