Research Publications

» AISE Working Papers & Presentations
» Research Reports
» Seminal Papers on Social Enterprise

AISE WORKING PAPERS AND PUBLICATIONS

This section contains papers and conference presentations produced by AISE members. They should be read as works-in-progress and drafts for future formal publication.

Read about the meanings of contemporary social enterprise written for the ACCORD Magazine.

Bartlett, L (2005) An Exploration of Contemporary Meanings of Social Enterprise, ACCORD Magazine, August.

» An Exploration of Contemporary Meanings of Social Enterprise.pdf

The following paper was presented at the 6th National Forum of the Social Enterprise Alliance in Milwaukee in the US in April 2005. It was part of a panel discussioni dentifing and comparing issues confronting social enterprise in Australia, the US, and the UK.

» Bartlett, L. (2005 ) Social Enterprise in the US, Europe and Australasia: Learning from International Diversity and Difference, Paper presented at the International Panel for the Social Enterprise Alliance Forum, Milwaukee, 17-20 April.

» Social Enterprises in Australia - Learning from International Diversity and Difference.pdf

Read about mission-market relationships delivered at the ANZTSR Conference in 2004.

Bartlett, L. (2004) Social Enterprise and the Third Sector: An Exploratory Review of Mission-Market Relationships, Paper presented at the Australia and New Zealand Third Sector Research Conference, Queensland University of Technology, Faculty of Business, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 24-26 November

» Social Enterprise and the Third Sector - An Exploratory Review of Mission-Market Relationships.pdf

The issue of networking has received increased attention from researchers in recent years. Thias paper describes issues that emerged during the course of implementing the Learning Movement Workshops under the former Social Entrepreneurs Network (SEN) orgnaisation.

Oldfield-Hiosan, A. and Bartlett, L. (2004) Networking Enterprises to Develop and Facilitate Business Growth – the Experiences of Social Enterprises in Australia, Paper presented at the Small Enterprise Association of Australia and New Zealand, 17th Annual Conference, Brisbane Sept 26-29.

» Networking Enterprises to Facilitate Enterprise Growth.pdf

Bartlett, L. (2004) The Contribution of Case Study to Surveys of Nonprofits. Paper presented at the ANZTSR Pre-Conference Workshop Panel: Questionnaire and Survey Administration Surveys of Non-Profits; Principles, Peculiarities and Practicalities.

» Contribution of Case Study to Survey Research.pdf

Read about a view of how universities engage with communities through social enterprise activities. This paper was deleivered as part of a symposium at the second former Social Entrepreneurs Network Conference in Melbourne.

Bartlett , L (2002) Universities and Community Engagement: Learning Teaching Training for Social Entrepreneurship, Paper provided for the Forum on Universities and Community Engagement at the Second Australia/New Zealand Social Entrepreneurship Conference, Carlton Hotel Melbourne, March 3-5

» Universities and Community Engagement.pdf

RESEARCH REPORTS

Two research reports from the Harvard Business School’s Publication: Working Knowledge

REPORT 1

How Organizations Create Social Value (August 29, 2005)

This research looks at smart practices by social and business organizations in Iberoamerica. Research by HBS Professor James Austin , HBS Senior Researcher Ezequiel A. Reficco , and UNIANDES Professor Roberto Gutiérrez .

The research looks at the factors that contribute to successful high-performance social enterprises and finds a connection between enterprises that link economic value with social value.

The two-year study is the second carried out by SEKN since it was founded in 2001 as a research partnership between HBS and leading business schools in Latin Americaand Spain. SEKN's research is centred on smart practices by social and business organizations in Latin Americaand Spain.

The study centered on forty organizations—twenty NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and twenty corporations—deemed to be high performers in social enterprise (SE). The researchers stressed the importance of synergies between Economic Value (EV) and Social Value (SV), calling them "two sides of the same coin." By aligning EV and SV, it was found that both nonprofits and corporations can:

1. Improve operations.

• Nonprofits can better focus on creating economic value by minimizing costs and maximizing efficiency.
• Companies can bring social value into alignment with their core competencies, improving motivation, loyalty, skill development, and even product differentiation.

2. Consolidate relations with stakeholders.

• For both nonprofits and corporations, a focus on EV and SV can enhance their reputation with consumers, government, and community. Corporations are seen as caring, and nonprofits are seen as efficient.

REPORT 2

Nonprofit Networking: The New Way to Grow (May 16, 2005)

How can a nonprofit increase its social impact? Many would say it needs to grow big to be strong. Instead, says HBS Professor Jane Wei-Skillern, the answer could be in the power of strategic networks

Whether their mission is to protect wildlife, help disabled people, or offer financial services in developing countries, nonprofit organizations often believe they need to grow big before they can achieve significant social impact.

HBS Professor Jane Wei-Skillern has been exploring something different: Her research suggests that a more powerful lever to increase a nonprofit's social impact might be to focus on building network relationships like-minded groups—even competitors. Organizations as unique as Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and Women's World Banking (which extends microloans) are deliberately using a network strategy and discovering its potential to serve more people more effectively.

For a full report on these two research studies and others go to: http://hbswk.hbs.edu

SEMINAL PAPERS ON SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

This section contains selected papers that every social entrepreneur and interested parties might and perhaps should read about social enterprise

Kim Alter's monograph featured at www.virtueventures.com and published in late 2004 is the most comprehensive typology yet to appear in the literature on social enterprise. As Kim would has argued, the publication is intended to be a focus for debate and dialogue on the complext issues affecting our understanding and practice of social enterprise. Read and offer points of critique on this excellent monogragh.

» Alter (2004) Social Enterprise Typology.pdf