3.1 Model Development
Osterwalder and Pigneur's proposed nine building blocks for the universal business model (Business Model Generation 2010). My research considers this proposed model, while also taking into account three additional building blocks that are essential to social enterprises: “social and environmental revenue,” “social and environmental costs” and “social entrepreneurship.” Figure 5 is the business model canvas developed for social enterprise.
Osterwalder and Pigneur's proposed nine building blocks for the universal business model (Business Model Generation 2010). My research considers this proposed model, while also taking into account three additional building blocks that are essential to social enterprises: “social and environmental revenue,” “social and environmental costs” and “social entrepreneurship.” Figure 5 is the business model canvas developed for social enterprise.
Figure 5. Social Enterprise Business Model
3.2 Research Method
Case study is the study of the particularity and complexity of a single case, building an understanding the internal and related activity within important circumstances (Compton-Lilly, 2013). The case study method has been an essential form of research in the social sciences and management(Chetty, 1996). It has been used in research involving business and organizational issues, education, child development and youth policy, family studies, international affairs, evaluation, technology development and research on social problems (Yin, 2008).
My research utilizes three social enterprise case studies with the social entrepreneurs and integrates secondary data from their company documents. Using the result of my research to validate the theoretical foundation and practicality for three additional building blocks for developing social enterprises and for supplementing additional important considerations while building a social enterprise.
3.2 Research Method
Case study is the study of the particularity and complexity of a single case, building an understanding the internal and related activity within important circumstances (Compton-Lilly, 2013). The case study method has been an essential form of research in the social sciences and management(Chetty, 1996). It has been used in research involving business and organizational issues, education, child development and youth policy, family studies, international affairs, evaluation, technology development and research on social problems (Yin, 2008).
My research utilizes three social enterprise case studies with the social entrepreneurs and integrates secondary data from their company documents. Using the result of my research to validate the theoretical foundation and practicality for three additional building blocks for developing social enterprises and for supplementing additional important considerations while building a social enterprise.
Figure 6. Research process
Figure 6 outlines the major steps in the process of my research process for my thesis. I began my research through email correspondence with three founders of social enterprises, I sent interview question sets and then we conducted oral interviews together. Last, three individual case reports were produced and then emailed to the interviewees for feedback and revision.
Listed below in Table 6 are the interview question set, the relationship between questions, and the building blocks of social enterprise business model canvas.
Table 6. Interview question set
Figure 6 outlines the major steps in the process of my research process for my thesis. I began my research through email correspondence with three founders of social enterprises, I sent interview question sets and then we conducted oral interviews together. Last, three individual case reports were produced and then emailed to the interviewees for feedback and revision.
Listed below in Table 6 are the interview question set, the relationship between questions, and the building blocks of social enterprise business model canvas.
Table 6. Interview question set
3.3 Research Companies
The target users of the social enterprise framework I have purposed are early-stage and start-up social entrepreneurs in the greater China region. The research companies were selected based on the following three criteria:
(1.) being social enterprise
(2.) being within its early stages of development
(3.) based in the greater China region
My thesis considers three early stage companies in the greater China region that
create financial and social value through social entrepreneurship and regard themselves as social enterprises.
ELIV is an early stage voluntourism (i.e. volunteer tourism) company established in 2010 based in Taipei, Taiwan. A phone interview with the Executive Director Helene Chow was conducted on February 2, 2013.
1 kg created in 2008 in Beijing, China devotes itself in making teach-assisting box for remote schools. An in-person interview with the founder Andrew Yu was conducted at the Transist office on March 13, 2013.
And Puki established in 2010 is a design office in Shanghai hiring deaf designers. In-office visiting and interview with the founder Xiao Liang was conducted on April 14, 2013 at the Shanghai Social Innovation Incubation center. The business models of ELIV, 1kg and Puki are recorded in Figure 6, Figure 7 and Figure 8 in chapter 4.
The target users of the social enterprise framework I have purposed are early-stage and start-up social entrepreneurs in the greater China region. The research companies were selected based on the following three criteria:
(1.) being social enterprise
(2.) being within its early stages of development
(3.) based in the greater China region
My thesis considers three early stage companies in the greater China region that
create financial and social value through social entrepreneurship and regard themselves as social enterprises.
ELIV is an early stage voluntourism (i.e. volunteer tourism) company established in 2010 based in Taipei, Taiwan. A phone interview with the Executive Director Helene Chow was conducted on February 2, 2013.
1 kg created in 2008 in Beijing, China devotes itself in making teach-assisting box for remote schools. An in-person interview with the founder Andrew Yu was conducted at the Transist office on March 13, 2013.
And Puki established in 2010 is a design office in Shanghai hiring deaf designers. In-office visiting and interview with the founder Xiao Liang was conducted on April 14, 2013 at the Shanghai Social Innovation Incubation center. The business models of ELIV, 1kg and Puki are recorded in Figure 6, Figure 7 and Figure 8 in chapter 4.