Partner Organization: School of Management and Economics - University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Project Duration: Mar 2020 – Mar 2023

Project Status: Going on

Social enterprises solve social problems and create social value, while being profitable, all at the same time. Promoting the development of social enterprises is an effective and innovative way of solving social problems in China. Hence a study on the sustainable development of social enterprises was important to the sector’s continued growth.

This project was conducted in collaboration with Assistant Professor Feng Tianli of the School of Management and Economics at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC). The research focused on three main areas: (1) How does the entrepreneur and organizational identity affect the institutional logic of a social enterprise; (2) How does the institutional logic of a social enterprise influence the sustainability of the social and financial impact; (3) How does the institutional, economic and technological environment impact the sustainable development of a social enterprise. Conducted using multidisciplinary theories like branding theory, organization theory and new institutional theory, comprehensive multi-domain research methods were then used to reveal the process logic and theoretical mechanism behind the actual phenomenon. The findings of this research project provided practical tips for local social enterprises and valuable insights for local governments for policy formulation. This contributed to the sustainable development of social enterprises in China. Furthermore, the research provided an Asian perspective to existing research that mostly draws on Western based theories and systems.

Partner Organization: Shanghai University Of Engineering Science

Project Duration: Jul 2020 - Jul 2022

Project Status: Ongoing

Social enterprises are globally accepted as an innovative solution to social development issues. It has played an important role in driving economic growth, reducing income inequality and unemployment. In China, the development of social enterprises was at its infancy and faced many challenges like shortage of funds, lack of talent and outdated organizational structures etc., which hampered the growth of the industry. With the objective of transforming China’s situation, understanding the origins of social enterprises, their growth, how to sustain them and their primary function was an interesting and challenging theoretical question that this research project wanted to answer.

Despite drawing from overseas research and experience, it cannot be compared to learning from local experiences. There was a pressing need to develop social enterprise development theories that were unique to China. The theme of this research project was “The Growth of Social Enterprises”, specifically in this order: Growth Characteristics  Growth Path  Growth Performance. The project outlined the different growth paths and studied the key characteristics of social enterprises. With this information, developed an integrated model illustrating the internal mechanism of influencing factors that affect the performance of social enterprises. The team applied social capital, resource pooling, organizational and institutional theory at three levels – individual, organization, and system – to explain the key factors affecting the growth of social enterprises. The use of qualitative and quantitative research methods made it possible to uncover the underlying logic, theory, and mechanism.

The research outcomes not only supplemented existing Western-centric social enterprise growth theories but also paved the way for developmental strategies and provide the basis and reference for local governments to formulate appropriate policies.

Partner Organization: Beijing Normal University - School of Social Development and Public Policy

Project Duration: Jan 2020 – Dec 2022

Project Status: Going on

In the international academic community for social enterprises, cooperatives are widely accepted as a typical type of social enterprise. Europe and the United States of America have a long history of agricultural cooperatives, dating back more than one hundred years. Development has become an important force in promoting agricultural revitalization, rural development and improving farmer well-being. In the current legal environment in China, agricultural cooperatives are the only form of social enterprise with special legislation. As an important driver of development, agricultural cooperatives are essential for improved agricultural management, ultimately lifting farmers in China out of poverty.

The foundation worked with Associate Professor Yu Xiaomin of the School of Social Development and Public Policy at Beijing Normal University for this project. It built on existing research, across multiple disciplines like economics, sociology, public management etc. This was an empirical study, using a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis. Taking comparable international research as a starting point, the study then focused on the organizational development and performance management of local farmer cooperative social enterprises. Drawing on the experiences of international cooperative social enterprises, solutions were then tailor-made to meet the realistic needs of local agriculture, farmer and rural communities which created a revival of the agricultural industry, sustained development and social impact.