Social Entrepreneurship---Meaning

Any definition of social entrepreneurship should reflect the need for a substitute for the market discipline that works for business entrepreneurs who use agency management system. We cannot assume that market discipline will automatically weed out social ventures that are not effectively and efficiently utilizing resources. The following definition combines an emphasis on discipline and accountability with the notions of value creation taken from Say, innovation and change agents from Schumpeter, pursuit of opportunity from Drucker, and resourcefulness from Stevenson. In brief, this definition can be stated as follows:
Social entrepreneurs play the role of change agents in the social sector, by:

1. Adopting a mission to create and sustain social value (not just private value),
2. Recognizing and relentlessly pursuing new opportunities to serve that mission,
3. Engaging in a process of continuous innovation, adaptation, and learning,
4. Acting boldly without being limited by resources currently in hand, and
5. Exhibiting heightened accountability to the constituencies served and for the outcomes created.

This is clearly an —idealized definition. Social sector leaders will exemplify these characteristics in different ways and to different degrees. The closer a person gets to satisfying all these conditions, the more that person fits the model of a social entrepreneur. Those who are more innovative in their work and who create more significant social improvements will naturally be seen as more entrepreneurial. Those who are truly Schumpeterian will reform or revolutionize their industries. Each element in this brief definition deserves some further elaboration. Let‘s consider each one in turn.

Change agents in the social sector:
Social entrepreneurs are reformers and revolutionaries, as described by Schumpeter, but with a social mission. They make fundamental changes in the way things are done in the social sector. Their visions are bold. They attack the underlying causes of problems, rather than simply treating symptoms. They often reduce needs rather than just meeting them. They seek to create systemic changes and sustainable improvements. Though they may act locally, their actions have the potential to stimulate global improvements in their chosen arenas, whether that is education, health care, economic development, the environment, the arts, or any other social field.

Ref: The above note is something i read from J. Gregory Dees artical on Meaning of social entrepreneurship, agency management software