Characterization of third sector organizations from the perspective of social innovation. A case study approach

Abstract

The relationship between social innovation and third sector organizations with a great orientation towards social action is an open debate that has faced a significant number of difficulties. Social innovation, as a construct, covers a multiplicity of social concepts and practices and is related to a great diversity of actors, without a consensus on the link between them. The objective of this paper is, on the one hand, to propose a series of analytical frameworks to explore the aforementioned relationship and, on the other, to apply them in a case study. With this, we try to carry out a characterization of organizations linked to the third sector of social action from the perspective of social innovation. For such a purpose, we use a mixed methodology in which frame analysis and discourse analysis are especially important. The result is that a significant number of the third sector organizations studied show a limited intersection between their reality and the theoretical-praxeological dynamics of social innovation. This is due to a series of limitations based on the concepts, the orientation and the organizational heritage of these organizations.