IMPORTANCE AND FEATURES OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

IMPORTANCE AND FEATURES OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP 

    To understand entrepreneurship, we have to think of it and in it we will look at the importance and characteristics of SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP.

IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP 

The role and importance of social entrepreneurship element as follows: 

1. Social Development: 

2. Effect on Economic Growth

3. Employment

4. Regional Development

5. Social Order

6. Standard of Living:

7.  Equitable Society

8. New Goods and Services

9. Promotion of Merit Goods

The role and importance of social entrepreneurship can be explained as follows

1 Social Development: ( importance of social entrepreneurs )

Social entrepreneurship facilitates social development. 

    Social entrepreneurs participate in social development activities like education, sports, community development, etc. by providing donations or through sponsorship or by organizing social welfare campaigns on issues, such as: 

1. Female literacy 
2. Drug addiction

2. Effect on Economic Growth: 

Social entrepreneurship facilitates economic growth in the country by bringing about social output. 

Economic growth relates to the increase in national income. National income increases when there is growth in social sectors, such as health, sanitation, education, etc. 

3. Employment: ( importance of social entrepreneurs )

 Social entrepreneurship is responsible for direct and indirect employment: 

Direct employment in social enterprises

Indirect employment in various supporting sectors like banking, transport, insurance, etc. 

4. Regional Development: ( importance of social entrepreneurs )

 Social entrepreneurship helps to bring  about regional development. 

Social entrepreneurship set up industries in backward areas as well, may be due to government incentives for setting up of industries in backward areas, and/ or to take advantage of local conditions in backward areas. 

As a result of this, there is balanced regional development. 

    For instance, at the time of independence, a few states were industrially developed such as Maharashtra, and West Bengal. 

Now a number of states are industrially developed due to the initiatives taken by the government and social entrepreneurship to set up industries in backward areas.

5. Social Order: ( importance of social entrepreneurs )

Social entrepreneurship help to maintain social order in the country.

 Due to employment people refrain from anti-social activities such as robberies, kidnapping, etc.

 If employment facilities were not available; there could have been law and order problems in society.

  Also, business firms provide tax revenue to the Government.

 The Government spends a part of tax revenue on law and order machinery such as police, courts, and so on. 

6. Standard of Living: 

Social entrepreneurship helps to raise the standard of living of the people.

 Social entrepreneurship generates employment. Employment increases the income level of the employed people. Increase in income level leads to higher.

purchasing power. Increase in purchasing power results in higher consumption of goods and services.

 Increase in consumption leads to higher standard of living. 

Social entrepreneurship provides quality goods and services, which also improves the standard of living of the consumers. 

7.  Equitable Society: ( importance of social entrepreneurs )

Social entrepreneurship promotes an equitable  society. 

It addresses social issues and achieves maximum social satisfaction through their social mission rather than profit maximization.

 For instance, Muhammad Yunus developed the Grameen Bank to support disadvantaged women. Also, Kailash Satyarthi organized a RugMark campaign against child labour and child slavery.. 

8. New Goods and Services:

 An important trait of a social entrepreneur is being innovative. 

Social entrepreneurship applies innovation to develop new goods and services.

 It brings innovative solutions to solve social problems like mental ill- health, drug abuse, HIV, etc. For instance, a social entrepreneur - Veronica Khosa in Brazil developed a home-based care model for AIDS patients, which changed the government health policy. 

9. Promotion of Merit Goods: 

Social entrepreneurs promote consumption of merit goods.

 Merit goods are those goods which are socially desirable goods, such as health care, education, housing, public parks, etc. they promote merit goods with the help of various social campaigns. 

They discourage the consumption of demerit goods like cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, etc.

FEATURES OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP 

The features of social entrepreneurship can be explained as follows: 

1 Business Orientation

2. Social Purpose

3 Social Ownership: 

4. Social Satisfaction:

5. Social Change

6. Creativity

7. Sustainability

8. Accountability to Stakeholders

1 Business Orientation: 

Social entrepreneurship must have business orientation i.e, It should involve in production and distribution of goods and services.

 It must be engaged in business activity on a regular basis. It must seek to be a viable trading organization with an operating surplus. 

2. Social Purpose: 

Social entrepreneurship operates with a principle of social purpose and the social purpose of social entrepreneurship is social welfare. 

It is a means of social provision, particularly to poorer communities. 

Social entrepreneurship is mainly active in areas, such as: Childcare Human rights Environmental problems, etc.

3 Social Ownership: 

Social ownership is another important characteristic of social entrepreneurship. 

Social entrepreneurship includes autonomous organizations with governance and ownership structures based on participation by stakeholder groups or trustees. 

Profits are distributed to stakeholders or used for the benefit of the community. 

4. Social Satisfaction:

 In case of social entrepreneurship, profits are not the end result, but just the means to achieve the end result of social upliftment and empowerment. The focus of social entrepreneurship is to maximize social satisfaction. 

5. Social Change: 

Social entrepreneurship engages in social change. If a social entrepreneur sees the potential for social change, he will out all his efforts and resources into transforming his vision into reality. 

He believes that his idea will bring about a healthy change in society and looks forward for a bright future of the society.

6. Creativity: 

Social entrepreneurship involves creativity in two areas: Goal setting: It includes clarity in vision and its execution.

 Problem solving: It includes bringing social output with the help of using a variety of resources and taking a decision to pursue the vision even when the social climate is not favourable. 

7. Sustainability: 

The purpose and vision of social entrepreneurship should be sustainable. 

This means, that even if the founding social entrepreneur is gone, the idea is still able to bring the desired social change. 

8. Accountability to Stakeholders: 

Social entrepreneurship emphasizes long-term benefits to its stakeholders. 

It involves duties and responsibilities towards investors, employees, consumers, dealers, suppliers, government and general public. 

Paying right salaries/ wages and incentives to employees Supplying right quality products at right prices to consumers Paying taxes and duties to the government