How Marketing Thinking Can Help Social Entrepreneurs

Author: Bloom, Paul M.
Source: CasePlace.org
Year: 2007

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Abstract:

Social Entrepreneurship has become a hot field. Inspirational stories about pioneers like Mohammad Yunus, the Nobel-prize-winning founder of the Grameen Bank's micro-finance program, and Wendy Kopp, the founder of Teach for America's program that recruits recent college graduates to teach in inner-city schools, have sparked interest in how others can be encouraged to launch and manage innovative ventures that have significant social impact. Philanthropists and investors, many of whom were successful business entrepreneurs, are now supporting foundations (e.g., Skoll, Case) and nonprofits (e.g., Ashoka, Civic Ventures) that identify, fund, and advise social entrepreneurs. In response, students, restless executives, second-career seekers, and academic scholars are flocking to study and join this booming field. As they look to scale up and increase their impact, social entrepreneurs are not finding very much academic research to guide them. This article is available for download below to all CasePlace.org users.