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Collective Social Entrepreneurship: Collaboratively Shaping Social Good

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Abstract

In this paper, we move beyond the typical focus on the role of individuals in leading social change to examine “collective social entrepreneurship”, the role multiple actors collaboratively play to address social problems, create new institutions, and dismantle outdated institutional arrangements. Specifically, we examine collective social entrepreneurship across a diverse range of collaborative activities including movements, alliances and markets for social good. We identify resource utilization approaches and three associated sets of activities that illustrate the work of collective social entrepreneurs—framing, convening, and multivocality. Using illustrative case studies to examine the phenomenon, we highlight the capacity of collective action across sectors to create markets, institutions and organizations and, to derive success by resonating through embeddedness in broader social movements.

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Acknowledgments

The second and third authors wish to acknowledge the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for this research. The third author would also like to thank Stephanie Choo for helping to formulate early ideas on cross-sector partnerships.

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  1. Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada

    A. Wren Montgomery, Peter A. Dacin & M. Tina Dacin

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  1. A. Wren Montgomery
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  2. Peter A. Dacin
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  3. M. Tina Dacin
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Correspondence to M. Tina Dacin.

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Montgomery, A.W., Dacin, P.A. & Dacin, M.T. Collective Social Entrepreneurship: Collaboratively Shaping Social Good. J Bus Ethics 111, 375–388 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1501-5

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