Overview

The Social Enterprise Zoo employs the metaphor of the zoo to gain a more comprehensive understanding of social enterprise: the diversity of its forms; the various ways it is organized in different socio-political environments; how different forms of enterprise behave, interact, and thrive; and what lessons can be drawn for the future development and study of organizations that seek to balance social or environmental impact with economic success. After setting the stage with a thorough introduction, top scholars explore the different ways that social enterprises can be classified, nurtured, and understood. The book not only details the legal forms utilized in social enterprise and the social entrepreneurs involved in them, but it also addresses the reasons for the success or failure of these activities and looks at the ecologies in which they operate. The “zookeepers,” such as governments and the regulatory regimes they establish, are compared and the important roles they play are examined. The volume concludes with a look at the future of social enterprise, providing suggestions for further research and implications for policy and practice. This innovative and accessible book is recommended for students, researchers, policymakers, entrepreneurs and managers of social purpose organizations. Contributors: F.O. Andersson, D. Brakman-Reiser, C.V. Brewer, F. Calo, J.A. Kerlin, J.D. Lecy, W. Longhofer, T. Monroe-White, E.A.M. Searing, J.-I. Soh, S. Teasdale, J.E. Tyler III, D.R. Young, S. Zook

Full Product Details

9781784716059

Table of Contents

Reviews

'This book by Professor Young and colleagues is a challenging one. It invites scholars, graduate students and practitioners to adopt/assume an imaginary and metaphoric way of thinking. The zoo metaphor is a very powerful theoretical tool that allows the reader to deal with the fundamental key-issues of nonprofit organizations and social enterprise management (governance, fund raising, life cycle, economic and organizational stability, social impact, resiliency, social innovation). The book is a masterpiece that lets us see the same in another way, from a different point of view, and that is - at the very end - the real task/goal of the scientific enterprise.' -- Andrea Bassi, University of Bologna, Italy 'In The Social Enterprise Zoo, Young et al. have chosen an apt metaphor to describe the active space between pure market-based organizational forms and government. Social enterprise organizations, whether in the nonprofit or for-profit sectors or somewhere in-between, look a lot like animals in a zoo. Some reside in the trees, others swim in an aquarium, and others fly through and stay for only a short time. This volume does a masterful job of capturing this diverse social enterprise landscape, and the authors offer more than just a description of the zoo but a full examination of its purpose and function in society.' -- Peter Frank, Wingate University, US

Author Information

Edited by Dennis R. Young, Emeritus Professor, Case Western Reserve University and Georgia State University, Elizabeth A.M. Searing, Associate Professor of Public and Nonprofit Management, University of Texas at Dallas and Cassady V. Brewer, Associate Professor, College of Law, Georgia State University, US

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