Social entrepreneurship as a competitive advantage
Matthew Veves, Contributing Writer
Issue date: 12/4/09 Section: Business
Bryant University must find new ways to attract incoming students as it increases the university's national recognition. Today's students belong to an increasingly ambitious generation intent on changing the rules of the game. Business, government, and non-profits were historically divided into neat silos. Today hybrid firms are blending these three domains through social entrepreneurship.
An entrepreneur is someone who spots possibilities in the environment, seizes the opportunity, and marshals resources to satisfy a need. A social entrepreneur follows the same path but with an overarching altruistic reason. This does not necessarily exclude financial profit. Social enterprises challenge the old model of nicely separated realms for business, government, and non-profits.
While the idea of social entrepreneurship is just starting to mature and become mainstream, the idea of collaboration between the three worlds is a growing trend. Social entrepreneurship will continue to get stronger, largely due to the mindset of the generation currently coming of age. Bryant must compete with other universities for this very generation.
In order to compete for these incoming students, Bryant must constantly refine its value proposition to meet changing marketplace dynamics. One way in which Bryant can improve is by positioning itself as the university for social entrepreneurship. While this may seem like an overwhelming task, many of the building blocks of this strategy are already in place, giving Bryant a unique opportunity to execute this strategy.
Bryant has the early-stage advantage of a variety of student groups centered around service learning, community service, and social entrepreneurship. There are groups like Students in Free Enterprise, Bryant Helps, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity, Amnesty International, Kiva, and many others which focus solely around bettering the community. Even the organizations centered around other interests frequently spend time participating in community service. The combined output of these organizations helps Bryant gain recognition by the federal government through the Presidential Honor Roll for Community Service. This is a testament to the ambition and character of Bryant's population.
An entrepreneur is someone who spots possibilities in the environment, seizes the opportunity, and marshals resources to satisfy a need. A social entrepreneur follows the same path but with an overarching altruistic reason. This does not necessarily exclude financial profit. Social enterprises challenge the old model of nicely separated realms for business, government, and non-profits.
While the idea of social entrepreneurship is just starting to mature and become mainstream, the idea of collaboration between the three worlds is a growing trend. Social entrepreneurship will continue to get stronger, largely due to the mindset of the generation currently coming of age. Bryant must compete with other universities for this very generation.
In order to compete for these incoming students, Bryant must constantly refine its value proposition to meet changing marketplace dynamics. One way in which Bryant can improve is by positioning itself as the university for social entrepreneurship. While this may seem like an overwhelming task, many of the building blocks of this strategy are already in place, giving Bryant a unique opportunity to execute this strategy.
Bryant has the early-stage advantage of a variety of student groups centered around service learning, community service, and social entrepreneurship. There are groups like Students in Free Enterprise, Bryant Helps, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity, Amnesty International, Kiva, and many others which focus solely around bettering the community. Even the organizations centered around other interests frequently spend time participating in community service. The combined output of these organizations helps Bryant gain recognition by the federal government through the Presidential Honor Roll for Community Service. This is a testament to the ambition and character of Bryant's population.
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