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Ethical Complexity of Social Change: Negotiated Actions of a Social Enterprise

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  • Babita Bhatt

    (Australian National University)

Abstract

This paper investigates how social enterprises navigate through the ethical complexity of social change and extends the ethical quandaries faced by social enterprises (SEs) beyond organisational boundaries. Building on the emerging literature on the ethics of SEs, I conceptualise ethics as an engagement with power relations. I develop theoretical arguments to understand the interaction between ethical predispositions of a SE and the normative structure of the social system in which it operates. I applied this conceptualisation in a hierarchical and heterogeneous rural Indian context to provide insights into the moral ambiguity of ethical decision-making and suggest pathways for ethical actions. Taking a qualitative case study approach, I followed an exemplary SE’s implementation process in India. I observed ethical challenges in designing the implementation process (efficiency versus equality), selecting the beneficiaries (fairness versus power) and sustaining the programme (cooperation versus autonomy). I also identified three actions of the SE—the action of recognition, the action of reposition and the action of collaboration—and developed a transformative process model. I discuss the theoretical implications of this research for SEs and recommend a critical engagement with ethical theories to address systemic problems.

Suggested Citation

  • Babita Bhatt, 2022. "Ethical Complexity of Social Change: Negotiated Actions of a Social Enterprise," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(4), pages 743-762, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:177:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s10551-022-05100-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-022-05100-6
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    3. Babita Bhatt & Israr Qureshi & Christopher Sutter, 2022. "How do Intermediaries Build Inclusive Markets? The Role of the Social Context," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(4), pages 925-957, June.
    4. 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.
    5. Marian Oliński & Jarosław Mioduszewski, 2022. "Determinants of Development of Social Enterprises according to the Theory of Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-21, November.
    6. Qureshi, Israr & Bhatt, Babita & Sutter, Christopher & Shukla, Dhirendra Mani, 2023. "Social entrepreneurship and intersectionality: Mitigating extreme exclusion," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(2).

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