Arvind Ashta

Using evidence from the microfinance sector, which is considered a leading sector of social entrepreneurship, this book attempts to push the boundaries of research in this field. While recent studies consider that commercial enterprises, not-for-profits and social enterprises are formed by entrepreneurs with different personal identities, they do not explain why these personalities may change before they convert their social enterprises, and change further at the stage of transitioning into commercial enterprises. Presenting a theory of development and evolution for social enterprises which examines the dynamics associated with change, impact and growth and an in-depth critical view of motivation, funding and profit, this book examines how that impacts the social mission and enterprise structure in the wake of hybrid and for-profit models and corporate philanthropy. The author highlights the ‘cracks’ in social entrepreneurship and asks how they are being filled, institutionally.

A school of thought hails microcredit as a social innovation, a messiah to enable people to help themselves out of poverty through entrepreneurship. An opposing school of thought considers microcredit as a capitalist demon ensnaring the poor in poverty and debt. The layman and the million professionals working in this industry are at a loss to make sense of the stories that circulate about microcredit. This book provides this sense-making, useful for students, professionals, investors and researchers who are attracted to this field. Poverty is a wicked problem, akin to Hydra, the Greek mythological monster with many heads. As microcredit tries to balance multiple objectives to grapple with these multiple heads, it has needed to shift the weapons it uses. The arsenal for this battle has needed new philosophies, changing ethics, differing missions, institutional partnerships, the latest technologies and new products. These rapid innovations have differed in speed across the world, with adaptations in developed and developing countries. This book presents these with many case studies and field research. It is clear that development initiatives, no matter how financial, cross academic disciplines. At the very least, they affect disciplines such as economics, business management, sociology, history, geography, politics, legal systems in place, as well as science, which is evolving at such a high speed. The book provides this multidisciplinary view and motivates future research and practices.