Connecting Two Sides: A Qualitative Study on Social Innovation Ventures and Poor Communities in an Emerging Economy
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Connecting Two Sides: A Qualitative Study on Social Innovation Ventures and Poor Communities in an Emerging Economy Rodrigo Luiz Morais-da-Silva1 • Andre´a Paula Segatto1 Indira Gandhi Bezerra-de-Sousa1
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International Society for Third-Sector Research 2019
Abstract The relationship between social innovation venture and poor communities has received little attention from studies in the area of social innovation. In order to clarify this relationship, our study seeks to answer: What strategies would help to bring social innovation ventures closer to poor communities? We developed an empirical and qualitative research in a social innovation venture and two poor beneficiary communities in Brazil. The results indicate that the proximity between those agents was based on five main items: (a) reputation of the social venture; (b) appropriate prices according to the community’s reality; (c) close relations with the community; (d) structure proximity; and (e) winning the community leadership’s trust. Thus, our study contributes to the literature by exploring the beneficiary communities and their relationship with social innovation ventures. In addition, we suggest the use of the term ‘‘social innovation venture’’ to designate a wide range of types of organizations willing to generate social innovation in the practical field. Keywords Social innovation Social innovation venture Poor communities Poverty Brazil Qualitative research
& Rodrigo Luiz Morais-da-Silva [email protected] Andre´a Paula Segatto [email protected] Indira Gandhi Bezerra-de-Sousa [email protected] 1
Postgraduate Program in Management (PPGADM) - UFPR Business School, Federal University of Parana´, 632, Prefeito Lothario Meissner Av., Jardim Botaˆnico, Curitiba, Parana´ 80210-170, Brazil
Introduction Poverty has been considered one of the most complex social problems (Hart 2005; Rogers et al. 2008) by affecting a considerable part of the population from developing countries and marginalized people in rich nations. To solve this problem, many players from different sectors (state sector, market sector and civil sector) are trying solutions in the macro- and the micro-level. However, according to the World Bank Group (2017), more than 10% of the world population lives with less than $1.9 a day; therefore, they cannot meet their daily food needs. The academia has been trying to help solve this problem by clarifying this issue. In the field of management, specifically in the innovation management studies, many contributions are trying to elucidate, for example, disruptive innovations, frugal innovations, innovations for the populations from the base of the pyramid, and more recently emphasized, the social innovation, the main subject of this research. Social innovation could be understood as ‘‘a novel solution to a social problem that is more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just than existing solutions and for which the value created accrues primarily to society as a whole rather than private individuals
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