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The Fourth Sector: The Future of Business, for a Better Future

In: Entrepreneurship in the Fourth Sector

Author

Listed:
  • María Isabel Sánchez-Hernández

    (University of Extremadura, School of Economics)

  • Luisa Carvalho

    (School of Business and Administration)

  • Conceiçao Rego

    (School of Social Sciences, University of Évora)

  • María Raquel Lucas

    (School of Social Sciences, University of Évora)

  • Adriana Noronha

    (University of Sao Paulo, School of Economics, Administration and Accountancy)

Abstract

We are facing a new trend in doing business moving beyond corporate social responsibility where new hybrid business models are formed to address a variety of societal and environmental challenges. The fourth sector can be defined as the group of organizations, models, and practices whose objective is to solve the great problems of the twenty-first century, combining elements from the three traditional sectors: the public, the private, and the nongovernmental. The fourth sector is rising in different forms in this new entrepreneurial landscape such as social enterprises, business-owned enterprises, cross-sector collaborations, and B corporations. Businesses within the fourth sector are blended value organizations because they pursue social and environmental goals at the same time that they use business methods. This chapter disentangles the meaning of the fourth sector shedding light on the new entrepreneurial ecosystems for new sustainable business models.

Suggested Citation

  • María Isabel Sánchez-Hernández & Luisa Carvalho & Conceiçao Rego & María Raquel Lucas & Adriana Noronha, 2021. "The Fourth Sector: The Future of Business, for a Better Future," Studies on Entrepreneurship, Structural Change and Industrial Dynamics, in: María Isabel Sánchez-Hernández & Luísa Carvalho & Conceição Rego & Maria Raquel Lucas & Adriana Noro (ed.), Entrepreneurship in the Fourth Sector, edition 1, pages 7-22, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:seschp:978-3-030-68390-0_2
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-68390-0_2
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    Cited by:

    1. Luigi Corvo & Lavinia Pastore & Marco Mastrodascio & Luca Tricarico, 2022. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Public/Third-Sector Collaboration in the Italian Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-17, February.

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