CSE — An All-Inclusive Business Model for Generations to Come

Abstract: Corporate Social Entrepreneurship (CSE) is “a way of doing business” so that all staff in any given organization (public, private or third sector) are fully aware of their role, responsibility and contribution to the sustainable socioeconomic enhancement of their organizations and the communities in which they live and work. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), on the other hand, is often understood as “a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis. (…) It opens a way of managing change and of reconciling social development with improved competitiveness” (CEC, 2001, p. 7). Whereas there is an overlap between CSE and CSR and a similarity of concept, they are on very different trajectories. CSE is not just another form of CSR, it is a process for invigorating and advancing the development of CSR. CSE provides an approach that will accelerate the CSR journey. The fundamental purpose is therefore to accelerate companies’ organizational transformation into a more powerful generation of societal betterment (Austin & Reficco, 2009, p. 2). CSE includes: creating an enabling entrepreneurial environment, fostering corporate social intrapreneurship, amplifying corporate purpose and values as well as building strategic alliances in order to solve economic and social problems and to promote the success of emerging innovative business strategies. This paper presents the journey, the pathway, the process, tools and techniques that will enable organizations to successfully progress from CSR to CSE.

Key words: CSE, CSR, socioeconomic development, entrepreneurship, society

JEL codes: D64, F63, L21, L26, L31, M14, O35