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School of Business | Department of Management and International Business | Entrepreneurship | 2014
Thesis number: 13598
On the road to understanding social entrepreneurial opportunity process - a multiple case study in Finnish context
Author: Meriläinen, Julius
Title: On the road to understanding social entrepreneurial opportunity process - a multiple case study in Finnish context
Year: 2014  Language: eng
Department: Department of Management and International Business
Academic subject: Entrepreneurship
Index terms: yrittäjyys; entrepreneurship; sosiaalinen yrittäjyys; social entrepreneurship; laadullinen tutkimus; qualitative research; yritykset; companies; voitto; profits
Pages: 82
Key terms: qualitative research; laadullinen tutkimus; social entrepreneurship; sosiaalinen yrittäjyys; entrepreneurial opportunity process
Abstract:
Purpose:

The purpose of this study is to explore how does a social entrepreneurial opportunity process look like in a Finnish context focusing on for-profit social enterprises that have either an explicit or implicit social mission for providing employment opportunities to people. An understanding of how the social entrepreneurial opportunity process looks like is achieved by analyzing two case companies' opportunity processes covering a period from their inception into the execution of operations.

Methodology:

This study was conducted as a cross-sectional multiple case study. The chosen case companies were Finnish originated social enterprises that had in common a social mission related to job creation. Semi-structured interviews were used as the main data collection method.

Findings:

What emerged from this study's findings was that the case companies adhered to a social entrepreneurial opportunity process model that consisted of two separate phases. The fist phase 'recognition of a social problem' was followed by the second phase of 'execution'.
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