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Going It Alone Won’t Work! The Relational Imperative for Social Innovation in Social Enterprises

Author

Listed:
  • Wendy Phillips

    (University of the West of England)

  • Elizabeth A. Alexander

    (Newcastle University Business School)

  • Hazel Lee

    (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

Abstract

Shifts in the philosophy of the “state” and a growing emphasis on the “Big Society” have placed an increasing onus on a newly emerging organizational form, social enterprises, to deliver innovative solutions to ease societal issues. However, the question of how social enterprises manage the process of social innovation remains largely unexplored. Based on insights from both in-depth interviews and a quantitative empirical study of social enterprises, this research examines the role of stakeholder relationships in supporting the process of social innovation within social enterprises. We find that social enterprises are adept at working with their stakeholders in the ideation stage of social innovation. In contrast, they often fail to harness knowledge and expertise from their partners during the social innovation implementation phase. Consequently, we propose a social innovation–stakeholder relationship matrix that provides social enterprises in particular with insight for developing stakeholder relationships to achieve their social innovation missions.

Suggested Citation

  • Wendy Phillips & Elizabeth A. Alexander & Hazel Lee, 2019. "Going It Alone Won’t Work! The Relational Imperative for Social Innovation in Social Enterprises," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(2), pages 315-331, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:156:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-017-3608-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-017-3608-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Dionisio, Marcelo & de Vargas, Eduardo Raupp, 2022. "Integrating Corporate Social Innovations and cross-collaboration: An empirical study," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 794-803.
    3. Svensson, Per G. & Andersson, Fredrik O. & Mahoney, Tara Q. & Ha, Jae-Pil, 2020. "Antecedents and outcomes of social innovation: A global study of sport for development and peace organizations," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 657-670.
    4. Phallapa Petison & Sooksan Kantabutra, 2022. "A Quest for a Sustainable Social Enterprise Model: The Case of Amphawa Chaipattananurak, the Kingdom of Thailand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-31, December.
    5. Huimin Li & Jianyuan Huang & Jiayun Liu, 2022. "External Support for Elderly Care Social Enterprises in China: A Government-Society-Family Framework of Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-22, July.
    6. Syrus M Islam, 2022. "Social impact scaling strategies in social enterprises: A systematic review and research agenda," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 47(2), pages 298-321, May.
    7. Busch, Christian & Barkema, Harry, 2022. "Align or perish: Social enterprise network orchestration in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(2).
    8. Marina Gigliotti & Andrea Runfola, 2022. "A stakeholder perspective on managing tensions in hybrid organizations: Analyzing fair trade for a sustainable development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3198-3215, November.
    9. Madhuwanthi Premadasa & Janaka Siyambalapitiya & Kumudu Jayawardhana & Imali Fernando, 2023. "Conceptualizing the Role of Social Entrepreneurial Orientation in the Triple Bottom Line in the Social Enterprise Context: Developing Country Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-21, May.

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