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Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

The case is suitable for graduate (MSc, MBA) and advanced undergraduate (BSc, BAs) students and applicable for course material focusing on social entrepreneurship, social ventures, strategic management, sustainable development and emerging markets.

This case explores Nuru International, a non-profit enterprise established in 2008 with the mission to “end extreme poverty throughout the world”. Jake Harriman, the founder and CEO of NURU, together with his team are on the onset of diversifying crop offerings among Kenyan farmers in an attempt to alleviate challenges stemming from severe climatic changes and low-crop quality. As 2014 is the first year for Kenyan farmers to grow alternative crops, the Nuru team faces the challenging task of convincing farmers to embrace diversification. Additionally, as part of its proof of concept philosophy, Nuru is establishing operations in Ethiopia. There, Nuru has to identify best marketable crops and promote these among Ethiopian farmers while empowering and engaging local leaders in the process. Finally, the team is looking for financing opportunities for Nuru's entrepreneurial mission. Their funding opportunities come from the private markets, the philanthropic market and the impact investing space. They are carefully analyzing these options and looking for alternatives in capital markets. Pondering on Nuru's rewarding experience with KIVA, a Web-based lending platform, the team wonders if crowdfunding may be a viable option to finance Nuru's operations in Ethiopia. They are interested in equity crowdfunding but are not sure what might be the associated opportunities and risks. They, therefore, need to assess the merits of the practice and decide on how compelling it is for Nuru's expansion plans to Ethiopia.

The case aims to help students comprehend the role of hybrid organizational designs in meeting broad societal issues such as extreme poverty; evaluate collective impact initiatives in addressing strategic and behavioral changes for organizations operating in contexts of extreme poverty where partnerships are the key for success; assess diverse capital steams for social entrepreneurs and understand how these relate to the stages of evolution of a social venture; and elaborate on crowdfunding as a nascent source of capital for social enterprises.

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The case features WaterHealth International India (WHIN) – a subsidiary of WaterHealth International (WHI) Inc. WHIN was launched in 2006 with the vision to “be the leader in providing scalable, safe, and affordable water solutions to underserved populations through an innovative business model.” The company incorporated a Build-Operate-Transfer model with decentralized production and distribution. Following a successful pilot project, WHIN installed its WaterHealth Centers in 175 sites throughout rural India by 2009, and attracted a $15 million investment from the International Finance Corporation to further expand its operations in India. Mr Vikas Shah, the Chief Operating Officer of the company, is faced with the issue of assessing scalability and sustainability of the company's business model. He needs to examine and evaluate the company's value proposition, resources and capabilities, and decide how to generate economic value while maintaining a focus on its social vision. The latter entails an ability to create shared value for stakeholders as an important contributor toward the company's sustainability. Additionally, Mr Shah is evaluating alternative public-private partnerships in terms of their suitability for the Indian context and viability to drive profitability.

The case uses primary and secondary data, i.e. interviews with company representatives, company reports, presentations, and consulting papers.

The case is written for graduate (and advanced undergraduate) students that enroll in classes with a focus on emerging markets, sustainability, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Examples are courses in Entrepreneurship and Innovation (especially those that include one or more sessions on the social dimensions) as well as those in Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development.

This paper aims to provide a detailed analysis of the key capabilities needed for social enterprises to succeed in the context of extreme poverty. Facilitating growth and alleviating poverty in the world’s most impoverished regions requires introducing innovative solutions to achieve social impact while generating financial returns.

This paper studies two social enterprises operating in Africa. Semi-structured interviewers were conducted with co-founders of the organizations. The transcribed interviews were analyzed through an open coding process, iterated to overarching categories, and compared between the organizations using a grounded theory approach. Secondary archival data and respondent validation were used to triangulate these findings.

This paper proposes a model that highlights five key capabilities social enterprises need to tackle complex societal challenges while overcoming resource constraints and institutional voids. The processes followed to develop and deploy these capabilities are delineated, and the necessity of hybrid mechanisms that blend non-profit and private-sector approaches is shown as a key enabler for social enterprises to meet their dual objectives.

This research is limited to two cases studies from two different industries in Africa. Future research would refine and extend the proposed model to increase generalizability.

This paper addresses a gap in the literature on understanding innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa, and it proposes a model for innovation derived from data. This paper also offers insights to the growing community of social entrepreneurs looking to develop sustainable solutions to societal challenges.

The purpose is to explore the free vibration behaviour of elastic foundation-supported porous functionally graded nanoplates using the Rayleigh-Ritz approach. The goal of this study is to gain a better knowledge of the dynamic response of nanoscale structures made of functionally graded materials and porous features. The Rayleigh-Ritz approach is used in this study to generate realistic mathematical models that take elastic foundation support into account. This research can contribute to the design and optimization of advanced nanomaterials with potential applications in engineering and technology by providing insights into the influence of material composition, porosity and foundation support on the vibrational properties of nanoplates.

A systematic methodology is proposed to evaluate the free vibration characteristics of elastic foundation-supported porous functionally graded nanoplates using the Rayleigh-Ritz approach. The study began by developing the mathematical model, adding material properties and establishing governing equations using the Rayleigh-Ritz approach. Numerical approaches to solve the problem are used, using finite element methods. The results are compared to current solutions or experimental data to validate the process. The results are also analysed, keeping the influence of factors on vibration characteristics in mind. The findings are summarized and avenues for future research are suggested, ensuring a robust investigation within the constraints.

The Rayleigh-Ritz technique is used to investigate the free vibration properties of elastic foundation-supported porous functionally graded nanoplates. The findings show that differences in material composition, porosity and foundation support have a significant impact on the vibrational behaviour of nanoplates. The Rayleigh-Ritz approach is good at modelling and predicting these properties. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the possibility of customizing nanoplate qualities to optimize certain vibrational responses, providing useful insights for engineering applications. These findings expand understanding of dynamic behaviours in nanoscale structures, making it easier to build innovative materials with specific features for a wide range of industrial applications.

The novel aspect of this research is the incorporation of elastic foundation support, porous structures and functionally graded materials into the setting of nanoplate free vibrations, utilizing the Rayleigh-Ritz technique. Few research have looked into this complex combo. By tackling complicated interactions, the research pushes boundaries, providing a unique insight into the dynamic behaviour of nanoscale objects. This novel approach allows for a better understanding of the interconnected effects of material composition, porosity and foundation support on free vibrations, paving the way for the development of tailored nanomaterials with specific vibrational properties for advanced engineering and technology applications.

This paper aims to explain the theory of stakeholder, value chain analysis and triple bottom line sustainability approach.

The present case was developed from both primary and secondary data sources. The primary sources included visits to Global Enterprises and collected data through a structured interview. The secondary sources included enterprise annual reports and websites.

This case presents the innovative approach adopted by a for-profit social enterprise, utilizing locally available resources, changed products and an improved business model to deliver the desired social impact. It highlights the challenges social entrepreneurs face and how the people at the grass-root level are uplifted through the success of a social entrepreneurial venture. The case study is based on an interview conducted with the founder and managing director of Global Enterprises and other stakeholders (farmers, women artisans and employees). An interview schedule was used for conducting the interviews. The researchers tried to understand the business model deployed, stakeholders involved, challenges faced, competencies needed and strategic decisions made by the social entrepreneur that helped the enterprise become sustainable. The social problems identified by the entrepreneur include unavailability of quality raw material at a reasonable price on time; financial scarcity and massive dependence on non-institutional financial sources; lack of product development, market research and production; and the high price of handmade products compared to factory-made products. The case explains how the entrepreneur addressed the problems of cotton farmers, women artisans and local youths through his enterprise. The case also explains how he could make a social venture sustainable in the long run.

This case targets graduate-level students and is designed to be taught in Entrepreneurship, Social entrepreneurship, Rural entrepreneurship, Business administration and Entrepreneurship development. It can also be used for other programmes, where problem identification, opportunity recognition, stakeholder analysis and porter's value chain analysis are taught.

The aim of this work was to study the effect of aerobic packaging on storage quality of functional restructured spent hen meat slices (FRSHMS) at refrigerated temperature (4 ± 1°C).

FRSHMS were prepared by replacing the lean meat with different binders and extenders in pre-standardized restructured spent hen meat slices formulation. The slices of control and FRSHMS were aerobically packaged in LDPE and analyzed for physicochemical, microbiological and sensory quality.

The pH of FRSHMS was significantly higher (p = 0.03) than control on 0 and 7th day. Thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values of both control and FRSHMS increased significantly on 21st day of storage as compared to 0 day. TBA value of FRSHMS was significantly lower (p = 0.04) as compared to that of control on 21st day. Psychrophils were detected on 14th day of storage and thereafter increased significantly (p = 0.00) in both control and FRSHMS. Coliforms were detected only on 21st day of storage in both control and FRSHMS. The sensory attributes of control, and FRSHMS were affected from 14th day onwards, but the products remained quite acceptable with sensory rating between good to very good up to 21 days during refrigerated storage.

The trials can be further carried in modified atmospheric packaging to evaluate storage stability of developed restructured spent hen meat slices.

The paper has demonstrated that the FRSHMS could be stored safely in aerobic packaging for 21 days at refrigeration temperature.

The tourism sector of the state of Kerala in India is highly vulnerable and has been extensively impacted by the global pandemic disaster. This paper aims to analyze the impact of COVID-19 (Corona virus pandemic) on houseboat operators and homestay managers.

This paper indicates a multi-stakeholder assessment method to examine various pandemic disaster facets through a structured discussion with different destination stakeholders. This study examines qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews from homestay owners, houseboat operators and government designators in Kerala. This study proposes a conceptual community resilience competency framework that could facilitate speedy crisis management responses. In this study, the sample comprises of nine respondents who play a pivotal role in the travel business, comprising the public sector, private sector, NGO's and community leaders.

The qualitative findings identify India’s and the state of Kerala's roles in handling crisis management scenarios over internal strategies and strategy formulation. The results indicate that the supplementary industry practitioners explore tactical and strategic management initiatives to sustain their businesses. The dynamics of stakeholder engagement adopted by the state is given prominence.

This study suggests mechanisms to re-establish the brand image and the possible strategies and suggestions that could help in the survival of the Kerala tourism industry in the post-disaster period. The “new normal” has been substantiated in the study by incorporating strategies and precautionary methods adopted by the homestay and houseboat operators so as to address the guests' safety concerns.

The purpose of this paper was to explore the possibility of utilization of Ocimum sanctum Linn (Tulsi) leaf extract as a natural preservative in muscle foods. The products incorporated with Ocimum sanctum leaf extract were assessed for various oxidative stability and storage quality parameters.

The Ocimum sanctum leaf extract was incorporated at 300 mg/kg level in the formulation. Chicken sausages incorporated with Ocimum sanctum leaf extract along with control samples were aerobically packaged in low-density polyethylene pouches and assessed for lipid oxidation, physicochemical, microbiological and sensory characteristics under refrigerated (4 ± 1°C) conditions.

Ocimum sanctum leaf extract showed a significant (p < 0.05) effect on the lipid stability, as the treated products exhibited significantly (p < 0.05) lower thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (mg malonaldehyde/kg) and free fatty acid (% oleic acid) values in comparison to control. A significant (p < 0.05) effect was also observed on the microbiological characteristics of the products, as the treated products showed significantly (p < 0.05) lower values for total plate count, psychrophilic count and yeast and mould count. Significantly, (p < 0.05) higher scores were also observed for various sensory parameters of the treated products.

The paper has demonstrated the use of Ocimum sanctum leaf extract as a potential natural preservative, as it successfully improved the oxidative stability and storage quality of the products during refrigerated (4 ± 1°C) storage and may be commercially exploited as a natural preservative in muscle foods.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that healthcare is the most crucial one in today's perspective. The healthcare sector, in general, is engaged in working on various dimensions simultaneously like the safety, care, quality and cost of services, etc. Still, the desired outcomes from this sector are far away, and it becomes pertinent to address all such issues associated with healthcare on a priority basis for sustaining the outcomes in a long-term perspective. The present study aims to explore the healthcare sector and list out the directly associated enablers contributing to increasing the viability of the healthcare sector. Besides, the interrelationship among the enlisted enablers needs to be studied, which further helps in setting-out the priority to deal with individual enablers based on their impedance in the contribution towards viability increment.

The authors have done an extensive review to list out the enablers of the healthcare sector to perform efficiently and effectively. Further, the attempt has been made on the enablers to rank them by using the modified Total Interpretative Structure Modelling (m-TISM) approach. The validation of the study reveals the importance of enablers based on their position in the hierarchical structure. Further, the MICMAC analysis on the identified enabler is performed to categorize the identified enablers in the different clusters based on their driving power and dependence.

The research tries to envisage the importance of the healthcare sector and its contribution towards national development. The outcomes of the m-TISM model in the present study reveal the noteworthy contribution of the organizational structure in managing the healthcare facilities and represented it as the perspective of future growth. The well-designed organizational structure in the healthcare industry helps in establishing better employee–employer cooperation, workforce coordination and inter-department cooperation.

Every research work has limitations. Likewise, the present research work also has limitations, i.e. input taken for developing the models are from very few experts that may not reflect the opinion of the whole sector.

The healthcare sector is the growing sector in the present-day scenario, and it is essential to keep the quality of treatment in check along with the quantity. The present study has laid down the practical foundations for improvement in the healthcare sector viability. Besides, the study emphasized on accountability of the healthcare sector officials to go with the enablers having the strong driving power for effective utilization of all the resources. This would further help them in customer (patients) satisfaction.

Despite an increase in demand for good quality healthcare facilities worldwide, the growth of this sector is bounded by the economic, demographic, cultural and environmental concerns, etc. The present study proposed a unique framework that provides a better understanding of the enablers. It would further help in playing a key role in increasing the viability of the healthcare sector. The hierarchy developed with the help of m-TISM and MICMAC analysis will help the viewers to recognize the important enablers based on their contribution to the viability improvement of the healthcare sector.