THE INTERNATIONAL GROWTH OF A SOCIAL BUSINESS: A CASE STUDY

In developing countries, initiatives have often been undertaken in order to fight social and environmental problems. Since the 1990s, an increase can be seen in corporate social responsibility actions, as well as increasingly strong activities by civil society organizations. Tweenty years ago, compa...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Anita Maria de Moura, Graziella Comini, Armindo dos Santos de Sousa Teodósio
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Fundação Getulio Vargas, Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo 2015-06-01
Series:RAE: Revista de Administração de Empresas
Subjects:
Online Access:http://rae.fgv.br/sites/rae.fgv.br/files/the_international_growth_of_a_social_business_a_case_study_0.pdf
Description
Summary:In developing countries, initiatives have often been undertaken in order to fight social and environmental problems. Since the 1990s, an increase can be seen in corporate social responsibility actions, as well as increasingly strong activities by civil society organizations. Tweenty years ago, companies and civil society organizations stood wide apart from each other, with often conflicting agendas and resistance to mutual collaboration. This reality has changed significantly. Besides the phenomenon of cross-sector partnerships, we can also observe the expansion of a particular organization type, i.e., the social business, which combines two objectives that were previously seen as incompatible: financial sustainability and the generation of social value. This article aims to discuss the factors that influence the results of a social business operating in three countries: Botswana, Brazil and Jordan. The results allow understanding the challenges involved in constructing social businesses in developing countries as well as a better understanding of the very nature of those businesses, considering the social realities where they operate.
ISSN:0034-7590
2178-938X