Social capital and social entrepreneurship : analysing links and implications for sustainability in third sector organisations in West Bengal
- Publication Type:
- Thesis
- Issue Date:
- 2009
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The theory of social capital attracts considerable attention across diversified fields due
to its positive impact on society. A major portion of social capital literature is devoted
to defining the concept and identifying the sources and factors that contribute to social
capital development. Putnam (1993), the major proponent of this theory, defined social
capital as the trust, norms and networks that facilitate coordinated action and improve
the efficiency of society. He considered voluntary organisations to be a significant
source of social capital as they encourage the trust-based relationships required for
collective action. Many authors argued that social capital development is context
specific. Krishna (2002) found that in a poor socio-economic context, social
entrepreneurs acting as mediators can activate social capital and bring development.
Social entrepreneurs act as catalysts to social change (Alvord et al. 2004), but limited
studies have focused on their role in voluntary organisations in developing social
capital.
The present research analyses the activities of social entrepreneurs who assist in
building and strengthening social capital among villagers as a part of the development
process, and the implications of these activities for organisational sustainability. The
activities of two types of social entrepreneurs, outsiders (SEETOs) and insiders (non-
SEETOs) have been analysed.
The research used a qualitative design and case study approach to investigate multiple
levels of analysis within the single study. The case study organisations are five rural
voluntary organisations from the state of West Bengal, India — three with SEETOs and
two with non-SEETOs. Primary data have been collected during 2007 and 2008 through
face-to-face interviews, published materials, photographs and participant observations.
The findings of this research indicate that the development of social capital is dependent
on the ‘enabling’ leadership style of social entrepreneurs. The ‘enabling’ leaders played
an important role in transforming an organisation into a learning organisation and
developed the villagers’ organisational ability or social agency (an element of social
capital) as a group to solve their own problems. The learning organisation ensures
organisational sustainability. The study also observed the ‘benevolent dictator’
leadership style. The ‘benevolent dictator’ failed to create a learning organisation, and
so the villagers had no organizational ability or social agency, which then placed
organisational sustainability at risk. However, both types of leader played positive and
effective roles in improving the lives of poor villagers. The research confirmed the
social entrepreneur’s role in social capital development in voluntary organisations
within a poor socio-economic context.
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