Rapporten fungerar som pilotstudie inför en förväntad fördjupning i området i framtiden. Den beskriver grunderna för cirkulär ekonomi och framförallt, för hur gjuteriföretagens satsning på cirkularitet kan påverka deras affärsmodeller. Med utgångspunkt i regeringens handlingsplan för cirkulär ekonomi (2021), noterar rapporten att industrin många gånger satsar på cirkularitet genom att ta till traditionella sätt att arbeta mer resurseffektivt (områden 1 och 3 i handlingsplanen). Område som påverkar företagens affärsmodeller ägnas mindre uppmärksamhet, men är minst lika viktigt i arbetet mot cirkularitet. Regeringen noterar att detta område (2) påverkar hur företag och kunder konsumerar, och använder material och produkter.

Med utgångspunkt i tolv principer för cirkulära affärsmodeller (de tolv ’R’) beskriver rapporten olika strategier som företag kan använda för att anpassa sina affärsmodeller till den cirkulära ekonomin. För att relatera dessa modeller till den svenska gjuteriindustrin används två fallstudier (Husqvarna Forest and Garden, och AB Bruzaholms Bruk). Rapporten visar att de två företagen tagit viktiga steg mot cirkularitet i sina verksamheter och att det finns en begynnande, om än otillräcklig, infrastruktur i Sverige som underlättar för cirkulära flöden. Satsningar utomlands möter större utmaningar eftersom kostnader för till exempel, returlogistik är höga.

Rapporten avslutas med tidiga lärdomar från gjuteriföretagens arbete mot cirkularitet, när det gäller just affärsmodeller. Bland annat lyfts fram vikten av ett fördjupat partnerskap med ett fåtal partnerföretag, projekt som tillåter att gjuteriföretag experimenterar med alternativa affärsmodeller, och insikten att det tar tid för det cirkulära tänket att sätta sig i hela organisationen.

The traditional food supply chains are vulnerable to external shocks, and this has been observable during the pandemic. Alternative food networks (AFNs) is seen as a potentially viable alternative to traditional food supply chains. AFNs encompass practices related to local food supply, involve few actors and promote sustainability. The purpose of this research is to identify strategies for sustainable AFNs, that enable growth and resilience during uncertain times. To achieve the purpose, the SCORE (Strengths, Challenges, Opportunities, Responses, Effectiveness) method is investigated. The main findings include an up-to-date overview of the strengths, challenges, opportunities, responses and effectiveness of AFNs in uncertain environments.

This chapter introduces readers to the topics of social entrepreneurship and hybridity of social and financial values. A South African case study is used to illustrate the particular challenges faced by social entrepreneurs in a sub-Saharan context. The emergence of the Greenpop as a social enterprise is described, and the strategies developed by its founders to ensure effectiveness and survival are identified. Particular attention is paid to how a business model was developed to ensure financial sustainability, while enabling the venture to create social value, to the way in which founders promote the distinctiveness of their enterprise among other social ventures, as well as to the factors associated with venture success.

This dissertation explores the learning of social entrepreneurs in accelerators. Building on Jarvis’ (2010) existential theory of learning, it conceptualises entrepreneurial learning as a process in which purposeful individuals encounter and transform experiences of disjuncture. These experiences are embedded in both human and material contexts. Learning processes and outcomes are portrayed as phenomena that are influenced by social entrepreneurs’ interaction with these environments. Accelerators are depicted as non-formal contexts of learning, of relatively short duration – in which the structure and content of education is progressively adapted to the requirements of the individual.

This study represents one of the first attempts to open the ‘black box’ of social entrepreneurial learning in accelerators. The process and outcomes of learning are investigated by means of a longitudinal case study involving twenty-four social entrepreneurs and three accelerators run by the same organisation. Information about learning was gathered using narrative and ethnographic techniques, and analysed drawing on an abductive methodology.

An in-depth study of the learning experiences of four social entrepreneurs is made and a typology of social entrepreneurs is developed. The typology integrates experience-oriented factors with social entrepreneurs’ degree of embeddedness in the context addressed by their product or service. These factors combine with venture stage and the intentions of the entrepreneur, to influence the learning process – and the outcomes associated with learning. Seven principal outcomes of learning in accelerators are noted and the learning of social entrepreneurs is linked to a ‘sideways’ move from a project-based charity orientation, to a more sustainable emphasis on hybridity. Furthermore, learning in accelerators is found to be more a product of co-creation than of effective programme design. The characteristics and dynamics of the accelerator cohort are found to have a significant impact on learning, with heterogeneity in terms of industry a key stimulus. In contrast, learning is enhanced when accelerator participants are at a similar stage of venture development.

This dissertation develops a model of the learning process in accelerators, emphasising the influence of entrepreneurs’ backgrounds and intentions. Ten educator roles in accelerators are identified and it is found that these functions may be filled by more than one of the three main categories of educator in accelerators (i.e.: managers, mentors and coaches). Opportunities for learning are created by the interaction of accelerator participants with both human actors and material objects. The term “splace” is used to refer to these ‘areas of opportunity’ – which allow entrepreneurs to engage in learning through reflection, dialogue, action or community – or by combinations of these four orientations.

Objectives

Practicing entrepreneurs must develop knowledge and skills to grow their businesses, but seldom participate in formal academic education. Social entrepreneurs face the added challenge of creating not only economic, but also social or environmental value. Seed accelerators are a recent innovation in start-up support: intensive, non-formal education that provides cohorts of entrepreneurs with advice and networks. The goal of this study is to explore the experiences of social entrepreneurs who participate in accelerators.

Prior work

Comparatively few scholars have studied accelerators and most describe programme characteristics and assess performance. Cohen (2013) notes that in contrast to incubators, accelerators expose entrepreneurs to market forces. She emphasises accelerators’ intense process of mentoring and education, and their role in expanding entrepreneurs’ networks. Hoffman and Radojevich (2012) suggest that these networks have a lasting impact on participants. Miller and Bound (2011) suggest that accelerators help VCs become familiar with firms considered for investment. Scholars agree that little is known about the micro processes by which accelerators create value for entrepreneurs. Lall, Bowles and Ross (2013) suggest that this is particularly true of accelerators for social entrepreneurs.

Approach

Using a phenomenological approach and case-studies, two accelerators run by a third sector organisation are studied. Participants and managers were interviewed during the accelerator, immediately afterwards and six months later. A questionnaire was also sent to entrepreneurs one year after graduation. During the accelerators several days were devoted to direct observation.

Results

The accelerators studied differed greatly from one another in terms of process and results. Several ventures in accelerator 1 were at the idea stage and were later discontinued. All of the ventures, including those with highly competent founders, had difficulty in attracting investment. In contrast, most of the ventures in accelerator 2 survived, despite the programme being fraught with conflict. Participants noted that a key contribution of the accelerator was the strengthening of the ‘business case’ for their social ventures.

Implications

The study suggests that accelerators for social enterprises play an important role in developing ventures’ hybrid identity. Accelerators can contribute to the development of new ventures at several different stages and accelerate the abandonment by entrepreneurs of weak start-ups. Importantly, each process of acceleration is unique, as the accelerator is co-created by managers and entrepreneurs.

Value

The study describes how accelerators create value for practicing social entrepreneurs and identifies key design parameters. The contributions of accelerators to social ventures is also clarified. 

Sustainability entrepreneurship (SuE) is an emergent field of study that focuses on the founding and growth of firms that combine the creation of economic value with the pursuit of the environmental and social objectives of sustainable development. A review of the SuE literature is carried out from a critical management studies perspective and five main themes are identified. The article notes that the field is powerfully influenced by its roots in ‘green’ entrepreneurship and that authors are generally uncritical of the concepts of ‘sustainable development’ in relation to entrepreneurship. From the perspective of bottom-of-the-pyramid populations it is suggested that these trends involve both risks and opportunities. The author calls upon scholars to integrate a broader range of voices and entrepreneurial topics under the sustainability entrepreneurship umbrella, and suggests that the field make greater use of concepts of sustainable development that are participatory and embedded in nature.

Sustainability entrepreneurship (SuE) is an emerging field that is linked to “sustainable development” (SD). The SuE literature is reviewed in the light of alternative understandings of sustainable development, noting that current conceptualisations of SuE are strongly influenced by studies of “green” entrepreneurship, and less so by the extensive SD literature. It is therefore argued that SuE research needs to recognise both the importance of an extended understanding of SD theories, and the “embedded” nature of sustainability entrepreneurship. By recognising the importance of “place” in SuE/SD research, it is suggested that the unique contribution of SMEs can be recognised and developed.