The social innovation process as a response to institutional voids: a multidimensional overview in projects that aim to poverty reduction

Transcription

1 Round Table I: Case Studies from Brazil The social innovation process as a response to institutional voids: a multidimensional overview in projects that aim to poverty reduction Manuela Rösing Agostini Doctorate student Unisinos (Brazil) Visiting PhD student ULB (Belgium) Dr. Claudia Bitencourt Associated Dean - Graduate Program in Business Administration Unisinos (Brazil)

2 UNISINOS and Jesuit universities

3 GESMAC (Competencies, learning and social business & innovation) Social business and Innovation 14 MSc and 11 PhD Subjects: Living Labs; RBVN; BoP; NGOs; voluntary work; social business; social capital; microcredit; dynamic capabilities; institutional voids. Special issue on Social Innovation at RAM (editors: Diego Maconatto; Lucano Barin Cruz and Emmanuel Raufflet HEC, 2016) Book about Social Innovation (2017)

4 Network and Partners Porticus Project NEIS Entrepreneurship and social innovation Center (Netherlands, 2014) Network for Business Sustainability NBS - (USA, 2014) TRANSIT (ULB, 2016) Business Lab (Unisinos, 2016) DESIS Design & Social Innovation (Italy and PPG Design, Unisinos) ICE Instituto de Cidadania Empresarial (São Paulo, 2016)

5 Issues analysed Institutional voids Social innovation and transformative social innovation The concept of "institutional void will be analysed as: when the institutional arrangements that support the social issues are absent, weak, or fail to fulfil the role expected of them. This type of institutional vacuum/failure/void could be generated by the State or the market in different social contexts. The research analysed concepts and origins of the term social innovation in authors like Mulgan et al. (2007), Pol and Ville (2009), CRISES (2013), The Young Foundation (2012), Tardif and Harrison (2005), among others. To this research, social innovation is the generation of new ideas and solutions that have an impact on the solution of social problems, involving actors and stakeholders in promoting a change in social relations. Transformative Social Innovation, as change in social relations, involving new ways of doing, organizing, framing and/or knowing, which challenges, alters and/or replaces dominant institutions/structures in a specific social context (TRANSIT, 2016).

6 Method

7 Grounded Theory preliminary results Mexican case Yomol A tel context Chilón

8 Grounded Theory preliminary results Coffee chain Coffee Producers cooperative Industry and comercialization Coffee shop Microfinance Honey cooperative Soap cooperative Universities Foundations Companies

9 Grounded Theory preliminary results Mexican case Yomol A tel The nodes of NVivo: Culture Challenges Personal histories Social innovation (main activity and process) Origin of the activity Institutional voids Context Concept of Yomol A tel Actors Scale Value Chain Policy Micro-credit Decision make The nodes of NVivo: Context / Institutional voids Culture Challenges Policy Project / process of SI: Concept of Yomol A tel Origin of the activity Scale Value Chain SI - main activity and process Micro-credit Decision make Actors Personal histories

10 2nd step: Theoretical framework after the Grounded Theory

11 2nd step: Propositions Proposition 1: Institutional voids are filled by multiple actors that have complementary objectives and which can act together in projects with a social mission. Proposition 2: Institutional voids are influenced by normative, regulative and cognitive dimensions of multiple actors involved in a social initiative. Proposition 3: Institutional voids occur in different environmental contexts, both in developing economies as in developed markets.

12 2nd step: Propositions Proposition 4: Institutional voids will be influenced by political, financial, education/work, and cultural systems. Proposition 5: Social innovation initiatives shall have at least these five dimensions: (1) Modify / transform a social need; (2) Innovative solution; (3) Implementation of social innovation; (4) Involve actors and stakeholders; (5) Effective results. Proposition 6: Social innovation initiatives involve multiple actors, including social enterprises and social entrepreneurs, having a systemic approach to solving institutional voids in different contexts.

13 3rd step: Brazilian cases The Ecocitrus - Cooperativa dos Citricultores Ecológicos do Vale do Caí, works with the concepts of sustainable agriculture and cooperatives. Since 1994 Ecocitrus develops the concepts of socially equitable agriculture, environmentally friendly and economically viable by encouraging family farming and the maintenance of families in the countryside. The cooperative has developed a process in which the associated farmers have to manage the whole production chain of citrus, keeping the values of fair trade and solidarity economy.

14 3rd step: Brazilian cases Bailique - AP Community Protocols are internal rules created by the community. Such rules reflect their own traditional character, the manner in which the community relates both to itself and externally, and also define certain procedures, criteria, and tools for territorial management and the use of natural resources.

15 3rd step: Brazilian cases 1. Creation of the Community Protocol 5. Creation of the Family School. Bailique - - AP AP 2. Definition of the main economic activities 4. Add value to açaí - cutting intermediaries 3. FSC certification of açaí

16 Preliminary results Regulative Norms and laws Inconsistency of government policies to social projects; Lack of government control in the region (political, social and legal in Brazilian cases) (military in Mexican case) Inappropriate laws for social projects; Normative value and norms Values (Mexican -maintenance the importance of tseltales characteristics to achieve the business) (Brazilian cases different perspective in different contexts more business in south and more ideological in north); Beliefs - interculturalism (Catholic and Maya in Mexico) (Christian and traditional features in Brazilian case): Machismo Collective and family Respect mother earth / nature and forest Respect the authority and community leaders Trusts or distrust: Between the community and managers; Among the project and customers; Among the project and foundations, companies. Cognitive beliefs and values Stereotypes (prejudice or unfavorable perception of people of Western culture or Tsental) (family agriculture system / organic food / traditional communities and normal market ); Management Practices (goals following the communities rhythm; decisions taken in assemblies); Identity: Language and indigenous roots (Mexican case) Traditional features to territorial management with sustainable principles (Amazonian case) Organic food and solidarity economy (south case) Relations of equality and community for fair labor exploitation Education level (in a more developed context the education level is higher and influence the concepts of the project) Collaboration between community members and the sister communities and similar projects.

17 Round Table I: Case Studies from Brazil Thanks a lot! Muito obrigada! Danke! Manuela Rösing Agostini manuragostini@gmail.com Dr. Claudia Bitencourt claucbitencourt@gmail.com