The roles of opportunity processes in a social business model: insights from China's e-commerce villages

摘要

A social enterprise connects a social purpose with economic rationality and market-based approaches to solve recognized social needs. However, opportunities often far outstrip the resources available to address these needs, making the design of a social business model challenging. It has been suggested that opportunity processes in a social enterprise enable economic, social, and environmental resources to reinforce one another in novel ways. Based on an in-depth case study of a large social enterprise in China, we find that opportunity processes are important components of a social business model. New opportunities are created deliberately while building a social business model, leading to the large-scale mobilization of participation in e-commerce activities. We differentiate endogenous and exogenous opportunities to enable the clarification of the roles of various opportunity processes. This study potentially enriches our knowledge of the relationships between opportunity processes and the construction of a successful social business model in the context of e-commerce.