The Interface Between Social Entrepreneurship and Governance : A qualitative case study including eight social entrepreneurs operating within regions of India

Abstract: Instead of asking why governments in developing countries are not doing what (Western) governments can (or at least in the past could) be expected to do we may need to ask the questions of how governance empirically is provided and by whom. While the involvement of non-public actors within processes of governance is far from new, the increased interest in social entrepreneurship, both as a practice and scholarly, is. The aim of the present study has been to explore and describe the interface between social entrepreneurship and governance within regions of India. The study has been inspired by a case study research design, including a set of qualitative methods: A generated sampling frame has facilitated the selection of analytical units; The collection of data has been conducted by semi-structured interviews; The data has been analyzed by a comparative approach. Based on a broad analytical governance framework provided by Kooiman et al (2005a) three research questions have guided the analysis: 1. What arguments are provided by the examined social entrepreneurs for their intentional action? 2. May action taken by the social entrepreneurs in this study be understood as an expression of hierarchical governance, self-governance and/or co-governance, and if so, how? 3. How may action taken by the social entrepreneurs in this study be related to first-order governance (day-to-day problem-solving and opportunity creation), second-order governance (institutions) and/or third-order governance (principles)? The result of the study reveals how the action taken by the studied social entrepreneurs interface with several aspects of governance. The arguments presented for intentional action, related to the provision of collective goods to marginalized citizens, may be understood in relation to two themes: perceived government failures (as well as failures by traditional NGOs) and the self-perception of being “value-driven”. The data reveals strands of hierarchical-, self- and co-governance. The studied social entrepreneurs are understood to contribute to first-order governance. Their action is further suggested to be challenging existing institutions in the long-run and perhaps also dominating principles guiding the “governance of governance”.