Chapter 2: An evolutionary perspective on social entrepreneurship ‘ecosystems’
Restricted access

This chapter focuses on the idea that the process of social entrepreneurship needs a supportive environment in order to flourish. Drawing upon biological metaphors and evolutionary theory, we show how different environmental conditions – such as historical, political, legal and economic factors – all combine to influence various types of social enterprise that can emerge in different contexts.  Reflecting on extant research on social enterprise ‘ecosystems’, we also draw upon our own results of a large-scale European project to present a typology of different ‘ecosystems’ identified thus far and suggest ways in which research on this topic could be developed further in the future.

You are not authenticated to view the full text of this chapter or article.

Access options

Get access to the full article by using one of the access options below.

Other access options

Redeem Token

Institutional Login

Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials

Login via Institutional Access

Personal login

Log in with your Elgar Online account

Login with your Elgar account
Monograph Book