Investigating Failed Social Entrepreneurship: A ‘Process Research’ Perspective

Abstract

This chapter suggests the use of process approach in studying of failed social enterprises. Process approach is examined by first looking at the epistemological underpinning of process and variance model followed by theoretical interpretation of organizational failure. It examines the current work on failure in social enterprise and highlights the suitability of process approach in studying the failure. The chapter argues that process research can be helpful in developing a complete understanding of social entrepreneurship phenomenon. Failures need to be looked as a stage in organizational change and not as an outcome. The existing theory on failure considers it to be an outcome and focuses on understanding the reasons and consequences of failure. With application of an event-driven model, failure can be conceptualized as an entity in flux and mechanism of failure can be studied through identifying events. The mechanism can throw more lights on how the temporality of factors can impact failure. Looking at failure through a process lens may able to address the stigma associated with it. There are few academic works existing on failure in social entrepreneurship and most of them take a variance model to understand failure. This chapter makes an attempt to explore the unchartered domain of failure through an event-driven model and discuss the possibility of using process research in studying failure.