The Search For Social Entrepreneurship

The search for social entrepreneurship The SEARCH for SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP The SEARCH for SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP PAUL C. LIGHT BROOKINGS INSTITUTION PRESS Washington, D.C. ABOUT BROOKINGS The Brookings Institution is a private nonprofit organization devoted to research, education, and publication on important issues of domestic and foreign policy. Its principal purpose is to bring the highest quality independent research and analysis to bear on current and emerging policy problems. Interpretations or conclusions in Brookings publications should be understood to be solely those of the authors. Copyright © 2008 THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 www.brookings.edu All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the Brookings Institution Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data Light, Paul Charles. The search for social entrepreneurship / Paul C. Light. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. Summary: “Outlines the debate on how to define social entrepreneurship, examining the four main components of social entrepreneurship: ideas, opportunities, organizations, and the entrepreneurs. Presents research on high-performing nonprofits, exploring how they differ across the four key components. Offers recommendations for future action and research in this burgeoning field”—Provided by publisher. ISBN 978-0-8157-5210-3 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8157-5211-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Social entrepreneurship. 2. Nonprofit organizations—Management. I. Title. HD60.L544 2008 658'.048—dc22 2008025541 987654321 The paper used in this publication meets minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials: ANSI Z39.48-1992. Typeset in Sabon with Myriad display Composition by Cynthia Stock Silver Spring, Maryland Printed by R. R. Donnelley Harrisonburg, Virginia CONTENTS Preface vii Acknowledgments xiii 1 Declaring Assumptions 2 Building Sites 30 3 Creating Strategies 52 4 Exploring the Evidence 88 5 Selecting Cases 144 6 Comparing Activity 169 7 Drawing Conclusions 196 1 v vi CONTENTS Appendixes A B C Mission and Purpose Statements from the Sample of Highly, Moderately, and Not-Too Entrepreneurial Social Benefit Organizations 219 The 2006 Survey Questionnaire and Responses 239 Differences between Highly and Not-Too Entrepreneurial Organizations in the 2001 and 2006 Surveys 259 References 265 Further Reading 277 Index 283 PREFACE Research on social entrepreneurship is finally catching up to its potential for supporting socially entrepreneurial activity in society as a whole. Drawn by increasing financial support and public interest, researchers are laying the foundation for a distinctive field of inquiry. The increased research activity can be seen in a number of indicators, including the number of recent articles cited in the references at t