The Social Entrepreneurship Matrix

1. Efforts to distinguish social entrepreneurs from traditional ones has led to a finding of greater similarity than difference.

2. If a socially responsible action has a demonstrable payback that can arguably enhance profits, then the company will choose to do it.

3. Quadrant III: The Transient Organization Quadrant. Quadrant III represents organizations that respond to market needs but are not driven by the need to make a profit. They normally work for a short time.

3.1. “the motivation for [social] entrepreneurs is not the creation of a new organization, but the creation of a path defined so participants can alleviate a complex social problem; whether or not the initiative derives a profit is irrelevant.”

4. Quadrant I represents organizations that are driven by a social mission and do not need to make a profit. They do not pay taxes on surpluses and must only cover expenses to survive.

4.1. Foundations, charities, public museums, and churches fall into this category. In general, they perform socially necessary work that governments and traditional businesses allow to slip through the cracks. They rely on donations, grants, and member fees to support their operations.

5. Quadrant II represents organizations that are not only driven by social missions, but must also make profits to survive

5.1. Enterprises within Quadrant II can provide the needed stability as well as a new perspective

6. Part of the difficulty social entrepreneurism has had in effecting widespread economic change stems from the lack of a clear and comprehensive definition for the concept.

7. Social entrepreneurs in this quadrant are committed to correcting the fundamental problems that stem from both the not-for-profit and profit sides of our economic system

8. Evidence indicates that all entrepreneurs are passionate, driven individuals, who believe their ideas will make the world a better place, regardless of whether they receive the title of “social” entrepreneurs or not

8.1. it does not appear that there is a distinguishing set of traits that delineate social from traditional entrepreneurs.

9. Social entrepreneurs focus more on social concerns, while traditional ones focus more on market-oriented ones.

9.1. Both seek profits to drive their businesses forward and both seek to make important changes in the marketplace. The difference appears to be in the degree of intent.

10. The matrix can help investors, analysts and other interested stakeholders more fully consider the nature of social commerce in relation to all potential business form options.

10.1. The matrix is divided in four quadrants, in order to diffirentiate the diferent types of bussines.

11. Quadrant IV is the most familiar, classic approach to business: those firms that primarily have a market-driven mission and are required to make profits. Their strategy for survival is to keep abreast of the marketplace and change to suit demand.

11.1. Traditional profit-based businesses have spent the previous few decades externalizingall goals except those concerned with profit maximization, seeking to focus evermore narrowly on those tasks that will produce the greatest monetary return for owners