With the increased profile of social enterprise in the UK and recent criticisms of the treatment of social enterprise in the Enterprise Strategy, a new study of US research on social enterprise makes for interesting reading.
Putting Entrepreneurship in the Social Sector is a new casebook from faculty at Harvard Business School which argues that the social sector in the US should take an entrepreneurial approach as, despite the best of intentions and trillions of dollars worth of assets, nonprofits have been unable to solve many of US society’s worst ills. The book notes that students are increasingly interested in courses and careers related to social enterprise.
The Harvard findings are echoed in a survey by the US-based Aspen Institute Center for Business Education on MBA student attitudes to business and society. The survey found that social issues, ethics and corporate reputation are becoming increasingly important to today’s MBA students.
