When is the right time to start up a social venture? How should it price its first services? What constituencies should be considered when shaping the board? What collaborations should the venture establish? When is it time to expand? And to close down? How can long-term economic sustainability be achieved? Which scaling-up strategy is most appropriate? How can social impact be assessed? These are a few of the questions that social entrepreneurs have to answer when aiming for social change.

Based on the author’s experiences of starting up a social venture that uses the collective production of mural art as a tool to change the stigmatised image of the so-called immigrant suburbs, Social Entrepreneurship – Cases and Concepts goes beyond given managerial answers. Recognising that social change requires the transformation of large-scale social relations, the series of cases presented in this book introduces sociological concepts and uses them for the design of social initiatives.

Social Entrepreneurship – Cases and Concepts challenges social entrepreneurs, non-profit managers, social workers, community organisers, activists, and artists to think carefully and critically about the social issues addressed through their work. It balances the pragmatism of the entrepreneur with the social pathos of the sociologist.