Social Entrepreneurship, a Key Driver to Improve the Quality of Life: The Case of TOMS Company

Abstract

Due to rapid evolution of new technologies and the accelerated economic and social change, many organizations have realized in recent years that in order to survive in this turbulent and competitive global environment it is necessary to take into account the needs and expectations of their stakeholders, as well as to make the labour relationships more flexible and to adopt a socially responsible behaviour. Social enterprises may be the solution as they represent a business model adapted to the 21st century, which through their activity create a balance between economic, financial, cultural, social and environmental needs. In fact, last decades have witnessed the emergence and development of concepts such as social economy and enterprise, social entrepreneurship. As a driver of innovation, job creation and economic growth, social entrepreneurship can and should contribute to economic well-being and social progress. On this line, it is worth to emphasize that the activities of social entrepreneurs may have an appreciable impact on the quality of life of people around the world. Also, social entrepreneurship represents a complex and multidimensional concept that has constituted a topic of great significance for numerous researchers in the past decades. The paper aims to define the concepts of social entrepreneurship and quality of life, and to illustrate their relationship in the case of TOMS company. The descriptive and quantitative research method used by the authors was based on secondary data found in the electronic databases, international journals and corporate reports. The paper contributes to a better understanding of the two concepts, namely social entrepreneurship and quality of life. Also, it shows that they are two related concepts as the first one has a positive impact on the second one through various actions, such as ensuring the basic material conditions, increasing the level of education, or improving the health system. Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship, Quality of Life, Entrepreneurship, TOMS Company.