Search results

This paper aims to examine the applicability of the benefits theory of nonprofit finance to an international sample of social enterprises (SEs).

This research analyzes the revenue sources of SEs through the lens of benefits theory. In particular, the authors test the links between revenue sources and the character of an enterprise’s mission. This study uses data on 545 SEs collected by the International Comparative Social Enterprise Models project, which was an international collaborative effort of more than 200 researchers. The authors use cross-sectional multivariate regression to identify the factors which influence the revenue portfolios of SEs.

The findings provide evidence of SE revenue portfolios that are nuanced and complicated. Benefits theory helps to illuminate this nuance. The application of benefits theory to SE goes beyond the traditional characterization of the publicness and privateness of goods and services to include the intended beneficiaries, the nature of benefits they receive and the management practices followed to assure distribution of benefits to intended beneficiary groups. By analyzing the public (and private) goals of SEs, such as employment generation and food security, the authors gain an understanding of what they really do, and hence, how they can be best financed.

This study provides empirical support to the applicability of benefits theory to SEs, which provides both theoretical advancement and practical implications.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how bonding (i.e. tightly knit, emotionally close social relationships) and bridging social capital (i.e. outward looking open social relationships) affect opportunity recognition and innovation implementation in a cultural network of firms, investigating the main benefits of and drawbacks to both bonding and bridging social capital.

The paper is based on a case study of a cultural network of firms which share the same norms, principles and values. The method adopted is content analysis of qualitative data.

The authors find that in cultural network bridging social capital facilitates experimentation and combination of ideas from distant sources, while bonding social capital, which underpins the need for more conformity, is more effective for supporting innovation implementation. Innovation results from the interplay between the two dimensions of social capital, and each dimension contributes to the final outcome in a distinct and unique way.

There are some limitations which arise from the case study methodology; the limited set of industries analysed affects the generalizability of the findings.

The research has some practical implications for firms that belong to cultural networks. It offers suggestions about how to manage social relationships in different stages of the innovation process.

The authors examine the effects of bonding and bridging social capital on innovation in a cultural network of firms. The authors show that in a cultural network, different moments in the innovation process require different efforts related to the firm’s network relationships.