Opportunity formation in social entrepreneurship
Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy
ISSN: 1750-6204
Article publication date: 18 October 2011
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of opportunity and its role in social entrepreneurship processes.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a single‐case study of a sustainable community in Denmark. The data include interviews, documents and television programmes.
Findings
The case study finds that the opportunity takes a number of different forms in the process. These different forms are the result of a continuous mobilisation of actors. On the basis of these findings a model of social entrepreneurship processes is proposed, where the process is driven by mobilisation and transformation.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of the case provide support for a creation view of opportunities and the view that opportunity discovery does not necessarily precede resource mobilisation. The proposed model contributes to the development of the creation view of opportunities as an alternative to the discovery view and to understanding of the role of opportunities in the social entrepreneurship process.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that the social entrepreneur is one who actively creates external circumstances rather than responds to opportunities already present therein. This implies a focus on different skills and ways of thinking.
Originality/value
The paper presents a model of social entrepreneurship processes grounded in a deep understanding of an empirical setting. The findings and model question the value of the discovery view of opportunities in the field of social entrepreneurship, while contributing to the development of the creation view of opportunities.
Keywords
Citation
Korsgaard, S. (2011), "Opportunity formation in social entrepreneurship", Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Vol. 5 No. 4, pp. 265-285. https://doi.org/10.1108/17506201111177316
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited