Chronology Critique

The Institute for Social Entreprenuers (founded and led by Jerr Boschee) issued a draft of a timeline they are compiling titled, "Evolution of the social enterprise industry: A chronology of key events." I found it a useful introduction and it filled in some holes that were missing in my understanding of the history of the development of the idea. Though the authors note that it is a summary of key events that have shaped the industry, a parallel summary with the growth of the academic literature demonstrating linkages to other fields would be helpful. Even searching out the academic literature there seems to be a preponderance of empirical research and practicum-based publishing.

Besides the format being slightly difficult to follow, there does seem to be a surplus of references to Boschee's initiatives. I am not suggesting his work hasn't been important or even catalytic, but it reminds me of Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote, "All history becomes subjective; in other words there is properly no history, only biography."

The historical antecedents noted (courtesy of Jim McClurg) need to be fleshed out a little more extensively. The typology is noted but not the actor or some key examples (i.e. Higher Education (tuition), Monastaries (wine and cheese sales), etc.). I am thinking particularly of the Jesuits as a great example--not only the substance of their entreprenuerial activity but the spirit of it as well. Sherrill Johnson wrote an excellent literature review for the Canadian Centre for Social Entreprenuership in 2000 where she quotes Bornstein who charecterized a social entreprenuer as "...a pathbreaker with a powerful idea, who combines visionary and real world problem-solving creativity, who has a strong ethical fibre and who is totally possesed by his or her vision for change." More thoughts on Jesuits another time.

Lots of good reading mentioned (must assemble massive bibliography!) but a format that tracks academic publications in one color and initiatives in another would be more useful.

My general thoughts are that this is one area I want to pursue further--I think grounding the literature in ancient examples and a variety of disciplines may aide in legitimating the field of study and clarifying future research objectives. This, in turn, should fine-tune the "how-to" work of practitioners and consultants.

Bibliography:

Bornstein, David (1998) "Changing the world on a shoestring: ambitious foundation promotes social change by finding 'social entreprenuers'" Atlantic Monthly, January, Vol. 281, No.1, pp34-39.
Johnson, Sherrill (2000) "Literature Review on Social Entreprenuership" Canadian Centre for Social Entreprenuership, p.9.
The Institute for Social Entreprenuers (April 2, 2008) "Evolution of the social enterprise industry: A chronology of key events."