Driving Factors, Innovativeness and Benefits of Social

Entrepreneurships: Learning from Cases in Thailand, Vietnam and

Indonesia

Lieli Suharti

, Roos Kities Andadari

and Soomboon Panyakom

Satya Wacana Christian University

Payab University

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurships, Founder Characteristics, ASEAN, Benefits of Social Entrepreneurships.

Abstract: Social entrepreneurship (SE) movement is rapidly growing, including in ASEAN region. Itis recognized to

help alleviating various social problems. However, empirical researches on pioneering and development and

the concrete impact of social entrepreneurs on society are still relatively limited. This study aims to

understand whatfactors driving the emergence of social entrepreneurship are, how the role of the founder in

giving birth to social enterprises is, what forms of innovation developed and what impacts social

entrepreneurship have on society. This was an exploratory research with a multi-case qualitative approach.

The research objects were 6 successful SE cases in the ASEAN region. The data and information were

obtained through in-depth interviews with founders and SE managers. Further, the identified results and

analysed patterns were obtained by comparing all cases using tables and matrices to draw conclusions.This

study found that a SE which managed to focus on solving certain social problems used innovative ideas and

programs, was managed with a business model and independence-oriented and was also supported by the

characteristics of a qualified founder. Successful SEs could provide concrete benefits to the community

which consisted of economic, socio-cultural and environmental benefits.

1 INTRODUCTION

The terms social entrepreneur and social

entrepreneurship are not new but have been widely

discussed in the literature on social change since the

1960s and 1970s. Since then, the term is used and

often referred to the rapidly growing number of

organizations that have created models for

efficiently catering to basic human needs that

existing markets and institutions have failed to

satisfy. Social entrepreneurship is believed to be

able to alleviate various problems of poverty and

social issues in the community because it is run in

the form of social enterprises that combine the

practice of professional business with social motive.

Social entrepreneurship can be used as a

generator of socially oriented economic

development because it can provide socioeconomic

stability in a country (Kostetska & Berezyak, 2014).

Furthermore, Alvord, Brown, & Letts (2004)

emphasized that social entrepreneurship can help

solving various social problems in society,

especially those related to poverty issues that require

fundamental transformation in social, cultural and

economic systems. Thus, social enterprise is

intended to be self-sustaining, able to expand widely

with the aim of prospering the wider community, not

only for the welfare of certain individuals (Zhang &

Swanson, 2014).

In relation to the role of social entrepreneurship

which in general aims to solve various social

problems in the community, social entrepreneurship

activities are expected to have a significant impact

on the target group. The impact of social

entrepreneurship has been experienced by many

countries that have first developed this social

entrepreneurship model. The benefits of social

entrepreneurship in the community can significantly

improve community welfare in the fields of

economics, education and health (Widiastuti &

Margaretha, 2011).

In his research on 121 social enterprises (SE),

London, Dell’Amore, Rothstein, & Stockhammer-

368

Suharti, L., Kities Andadari, R. and Panyakom, S.

Driving Factors, Innovativeness and Beneﬁts of Social Entrepreneurships: Learning from Cases in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.

DOI: 10.5220/0008440303680377

In Proceedings of the 4th Sriwijaya Economics, Accounting, and Business Conference (SEABC 2018), pages 368-377

ISBN: 978-989-758-387-2

DeSimone (2014) found that the characteristics and

experiences of SE founders and the level of

difficulty of the social problems faced positively

influence the emergence of innovative ideas which

would have an impact in producing beneficial

outcomes. A research by London et al., (2014) is a

replication of Edmondson (2002); Lee & Nelson

(2005) study who conducted studies on a smaller

scale and they found similar research results. Other

researchers, Diochon (2013) emphasized the

importance of social entrepreneurship to produce

impacts that are not only oriented to the efforts to

alleviate poverty in the short term, but should be

more directed towards the emergence of the target

group's self-sufficiency in the long term.

Some previous studies emphasized the

importance of the role of a founder or initiator of SE

behind the success of social entrepreneurs.

According to Rusli, Sahuri, Mashur, & Mayarni

(2012), social entrepreneurs are people who have

transformative power with new ideas, the ability to

use and create opportunities in facing big problems,

and a tireless attitude in realizing their vision until

they succeed in spreading ideas. Alvord et al.,

(2004) asserted that in achieving its vision, social

entrepreneurs need creativity and obsession, dare to

take initiatives, be able to gather all resources and

build organizations to protect and market their

ideals, provide energy and centrally focused

attention to overcome obstacles and that continues to

improve, strengthen and develop the ideals that it

strives for.

In recent years, there has been a movement to

develop social entrepreneurship in various regions of

ASEAN countries. According to some literature

(Kostetska & Berezyak, 2014), social

entrepreneurship is a kind of activity that needs to

be revitalized in ASEAN countries, especially for

marginalized communities. Leaders of ASEAN

countries have officially announced that in 2015 the

ASEAN economic community (AEC) has become a

community with its motto: “One Vision, One

identity, One Community”. The Association of

Southeast Asian Nations aims to be stable and

prosperous community and a highly competitive

region with equitable economic development,

reduced poverty and socio-economic

disparities(College of Management, 2012).

However, poverty and welfare are still such a big

issue in some parts of the ASEAN countries (Asian

Development Bank, 2012). Low incomes consumers

constitute a majority of the region’s population and

they make up what is called the base of economic

pyramid (BOP) (Elkington & Hartigan, 2008). Other

words, these people are the foundation of the

economic, social and environmental development in

the region.

To respond to this opportunity and experience in

the social entrepreneurship movement, it would be

advantageous to study social entrepreneurs’

initiatives in the ASEAN communities including

their visions, aspiration, their innovativeness in

developing social entrepreneurship, and the impact

of their social entrepreneurships activities for the

surrounding community. This article was written

based on a study of 6 cases of social enterprises (SE)

that were successful in the ASEAN region namely in

Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. The SE cases

raised from Thailand were Mae Khampong and

Akha Ama Coffee tourism villages. In Vietnam, 2

cases studied were Craft Link - SE which was

engaged in handicrafts, and Mien Koto, a SE

engaged in education for street children and young

people from marginalized groups in Vietnam.

Furthermore, in Indonesia, 2 SE cases studied were

KoperasiKasih Indonesia which is engaged in

microfinance for minority groups that are not

covered by formal financial institutions, and SE

Yayasan Indonesia Medika in the field of health,

which offers health clinics for Papuans by utilizing

garbage insurance. These six cases were chosen for

this study because they were examples of successful

social entrepreneurship and had produced positive

impacts in the form of significant changes in the

social, political and economic context of the poor

and marginalized.

The analytical approach in this article focuses on

the answers to research questions that include: what

are the factors driving the emergence of social

entrepreneurship?; how is the role of the founder in

giving birth to social enterprises?; what forms of

innovation are developed and how are the impacts of

the role of social entrepreneurship for the

community? It is expected that the story of social

changes from 6 SE cases in the ASEAN region can

be categorized as successful stories and can be a

world inspiration. Particularly, understanding this

new practice may be well recognized in AEC so that

future projects have a better change of benefiting the

people and economy in the region.

2 RESEARCH METHOD

This research was an exploratory research with

a qualitative approach and multi cases. As Flyvbjerg

(2004) suggested, an exploratory research could

provide information on a real-life situation.

Similarly, Stake (1995) also indicated that an

exploratory study could probe into the particularity

and complexity of a social phenomenon, and thus

Driving Factors, Innovativeness and Beneﬁts of Social Entrepreneurships: Learning from Cases in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia

369

enabling the researcher to understand not only the

activities involved, but also the important

surrounding circumstances. In other words, even

with its exploratory nature, practical knowledge and

understanding of particular contexts could be

achieved satisfactorily.

This study conducted a comparative analysis of

6 social entrepreneurship cases in the ASEAN region

which were categorized as successful SEs according

to the 3 criteria used to select the research case,

namely: SE had been operating for at least 4 years

when the research was conducted; considered as

successful SE indicated by the positive impact for

the target community; and was willing to be studied.

As a result, from a number of SEs contacted by

researchers, 2 SEs were chosen in Thailand (Mae

Khampong/MK and Akha AmaCoffe/ AA), 2 SEs in

Vietnam (Craft Links/ CL and Mien KOTO/ MK)

and 2 SEs in Indonesia (KoperasiKasih Indonesia?

KKI, and Yayasan Indonesia Medika/ YMI).

To identify patterns that relate to cases in each

country which were interesting to analyze, data

collection was done through in-depth interviews

with unstructured interview guidelines. The

interviews were conducted directly with the

founders and several employees of each SE for the

purpose of completing information and cross-

checking. Then, the researchers compared the

patterns in 6 cases using tables and matrices. The

results of this process were then analyzed resulting

in some conclusions, although cases from various

regions had their own peculiarities.

3 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Profile of Cases Studied

Table 1: General Profile of Social Enterprises Studied

Indicator/

cases

KKI

YIM

Type of

business

Eco

Tourism

Café and

coffee

production

Traditional

craftsmen

empowerment in

Vietnam

Holistic

hospitality

training

program

Micro finance

Health clinic

with garbage

insurance

Establishm

ent year

1999

2010

1996

1999

2011

2013

Location

Chiang Mai,

Thailand

Chiang

Ma;

Thailand

Hanoi, Vietnam

Hanoi,

Vietnam

Jakarta,

Indonesia

Surabaya,

Indonesia

Founders

/gender/ag

e*)

Miang –

Tirame

/Male/40

years

Lee

AyuChuap

aa/

Male/25

years

Tran TuyetLan

/Female/ 32

years

Jimmy

Pham/Male/

28 years

Leonardo

Kamylius/Ma

le/ 28 years

dr.

GamalAlbins

aid/ Male/ 26

years

Founders’

education

backgrou

Graduated

from long-

distance-

education.

(senior high

school)

Graduated

from

university

in the field

of Social

worker

Master in

business

administration

Graduated

from

university in

the field of

tourism and

hospitality

Graduated

from Faculty

of Economics

of Indonedia

university

Graduated

from Faculty

of Medicine

In Surabaya

*) age when establishing the S

Based on the 6 SE cases examined, it is obvious

that the focus of the SE development sector varied

greatly depending on the social issues that would be

overcome. The focus of the development field

includes eco-tourism (Mae Khampong), agriculture

and post-harvest coffee processing (AkhaAma

Coffee), traditional craftsmen empowerment (Craft

links), education in the form of work-ready training

(Mien KOTO), micro finance (Koperasi Kasih

Indonesia) and the health sector (Yayasan Indonesia

Medika). All focuses of SE development above is

indeed an answer to the social problems commonly

found in developing countries. 3 of the 6 SEs studied

have been established for a long time, reaching

almost 20 years. Especially for Craft link, it is> 20

years old because Craft Link is the development of

the activities that NGOs had done in Vietnam

decades ago. Interestingly, it can be seen that the

other 3 SEs, AkhaAma Coffee, KoperasiKasih

Indonesia (KKI) and the Indonesian Medika

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Foundation (YIM) turned out to be relatively young.

This shows that the SE movement developed over

time and more and more were interested in

developing social enterprises.

Further, when it was related to the age of the

founders, it can be seen that 4 SEs were initiated by

founders who were relatively young, who were less

than 30 years. In addition, all young founders had a

formal undergraduate education background. This

finding is certainly encouraging for social

entrepreneurships activists as there are indications

that young intellectuals are beginning to be sensitive

to social problems around them and want to

intervene directly to participate concretely to help

overcoming social problems that may not be

addressed by the government.

On the business performance, it can be seen that

all SEs studied have good performance with

concrete results. From the results of interviews with

key informants, it was acknowledged that in the

performance achievement, it was actually loaded

with a number of fundamental changes to the

community which included social changes (culture

and mindset of the community), economic changes

(production, marketing processes and technology)

and political changes (village regulations and local

agreement). Miang (initiator of Mae Khampong)

stated that he needed 4 years to convince the local

community so that they were willing to support his

idea which was intended to prosper the local

community itself. In line with this, Mr.Kamilyus

(founder of KKI) also said that he was almost

frustrated in the first two years because it was

difficult to raise public awareness to save for their

own good. However, with a tireless effort, the

community mindset can finally be changed.

3.2 Driving Factors and Innovativeness

of SE

The background of an SE initiated is highly

dependent on the emergence of an agent of change

who is actually the founders of the establishment of

social enterprises in the community. It was

interesting to know what the driving factor that

motivated the emergence of the intention to establish

SE was. In this study, the driving factors for SE

initiation have been summarized in Table 2 below.

Table2: Driving Factors of Social Enterprises Studied

No.

Cases

Driving Factors of SE Initiation

The condition of poor people in the village where he comes from, and farming activities cannot meet

his daily needs.

Infrastructure conditions are very bad (there is no electricity and the roads are very bad), so the

village is isolated

There are not enough jobs in the village, so that villagers look for work out of the village and

villages are increasingly not developing

The opportunity to get a decent education for the villagers is very low

The poverty of the community in the Akha village

Poor education conditions, and in fact, Lee is being the only scholar in the village when he graduated

from university.

Agriculture is subsistence and conventional.

Farmers do not get adequate results from agricultural activities which are the main livelihoods of

local residents.

Infrastructure in the village is very limited, although the Akha village has very beautiful natural

scenery but it is rarely visited.

CL was established to continue the international NGOs activities that helped empowering the

traditional handicraft products craftsmen from various remote areas in Vietnam.

CL aims to help the Vietnamese handicraft producers especially those in remote and poor areas, to

improve their lives through handicraft production and marketing, and also strives to revive and

promote traditional arts and crafts products and skills in Vietnam.

Educating people to appreciate and like traditional Vietnamese handicraft products.

Fighting for the implementation of fair trade principles so that artisan can earn enough wages.

The lives of young people who are at risk and disadvantaged in Vietnam (street children, young

people in villages who come from financially disadvantaged families).

The number of children who live on the street and do not have the opportunity to get a decent

education to change their fate in the future.

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371

Many health and social problems that threaten children who live on the street.

KKI

There is a wide gap between the "the rich" and "the poor" groups in Indonesia and is very striking.

The poor group does not get the opportunity to get education, health services and good life quality.

The number of women from marginalized groups who work hard to support the family economy

with productive activities such as trading and micro-scale home industry, but they cannot develop

because of the difficulty in obtaining access to cheap credit.

Feeling called and motivated to do something meaningful in life for others (marginalized groups).

YMI

Concerned about the conditions of the poor and underdeveloped who have low incomes, low

education and also poor nutrition and health conditions.

There are poor people who have limited access to health services and facilities, because eating

regularly is difficult.

On the other hand, there is a problem of plastic waste that threatens the preservation of the

environment that needs to be overcome.

Source: interview data, 2017

Table 3:Innovativenessof Social Enterprises Studied

No.

Cases

Innovativeness

Initiating and developing touristy villages with the eco-tourism concept that utilizes local resources

such as waterfalls

Relying on 3 types of capital, namely cultural capital; natural capital and way of life capital. Start

from no money and then rely on people power.

Implement community management by involving the active participation of citizens to participate

in managing the business together

Determining and implementing quality standards for continuous service quality assurance

Making local regulations in the utilization of local resources

Helping coffee farmers to improve their productivity, so they can improve their life quality.

Introducing a coffee cultivation system that supports sustainable indigenous farming, Lee has a

principle: "it's better to work with nature, than to oppose it".

Introducing quality coffee processing techniques and international quality standards to enter the

international market.

Assisting the development of the Akha village towards the Coffee touristy village.

The empowerment of craftsmen in handicraft products is carried out comprehensively and

integrated from upstream to downstream, ranging from knowledge and input selection methods,

standardization of the production process to product marketing.

Providing a range of business training to artisan including new product design, business training in

various fields such as marketing, quality control, basic accounting, and marketing strategies.Craft

Link operates professionally in a business manner, but is committed to utilizing the profits earned

for social activities of developing new handicraft projects in remote areas, not for the benefit of the

owner or the board.

Opening a hospitality training center for children who live on the street.

Providing opportunities for young people who are at risk and disadvantaged to learn so that they

have hope for a better life.

Collaborating with local and international institutions to provide quality education and training in

the field of hospitality.

Looking for individual sponsors to provide scholarships for every child who is a student to ensure

the continuity of the organization's activities in the future.

KKI

Focusing on women from poor groups who have productive business activities but are not

developing and still living in poverty.

Establishing and developing the KoperasiKasih Indonesia engaged in micro finance which refers to

the Grameen bank business model developed by MohamadYunus.

The uniqueness of the credit system in KKI is that it requires borrowing credit members to save a

sum of money together with loan installment payments. Thus, the members are expected to

become accustomed to saving.

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YIM

Developing a Waste Insurance Clinic, a microinsurance which utilizes the value of plastic waste

that can be recycled as a health budget for households. Developing a website ready peduli.co.id

that sells stories from people who have serious illnesses for fundraising (donations).

Expecting to make HomeMedika.com where doctors can be sent to the homes of sick people in

various regions. The principle is that rich patients pay, the poor are free from cross subsidies.

The aim of the Yayasan Indonesia Medika is to serve the health of the poor while solving waste

problems.

Source: interview data, 2017

Overall, from the information obtained from the

key informants, social problems related to poverty,

unemployment, little opportunities to get a decent

education, poor nutrition and health, poor

infrastructure conditions and low business

productivity were recognized by all informants as

the background factors for them to develop SE.

However, there are some fairly specific reasons

underlying the SE movement studied. For example,

in Craft Link, one of the things that motivated them

to establish Craft Link was to improve the welfare of

the artisans of traditional Vietnamese crafts, and

another reason was because of their concern about

the diminishing value of art and traditional

Vietnamese craftsmanship. Likewise, it was also

found that the motivation behind Mien Koto's

establishment as a ready-to-work training center for

street children was a noble goal to reduce the level

of crime in the lives of street children. The

background factors of SE establishment which were

also widely revealed from this research were a desire

to maintain environmental balance and

sustainability. The initiator of the Mae Khampong

tourism village applied the concept of eco-tourism

that paid attention to the balance in nature in

managing tourism villages. Lee Chuapa also

introduced an environmentally friendly coffee

cultivation system to produce quality coffee.

With the background of these emerging social

problems in overcoming the existing problems, this

study found that each SE had creative ideas and

innovations to be implemented. Interestingly, the

results of the study found that each SE had a specific

target group. For example, Maekhampung and

AkhaAma coffee focused on the citizens of one

village, Mien Koto targeted street children and

Papah children with clear criteria, while KKI

focused only on women from marginalized groups

who had small-scale productive businesses. Based

on the forms and types of innovative programs

applied to each SE as stated in Table 2 above, it can

be seen that there is a high variation between SEs.

Innovative programs are very dependent on the

condition and situation of each SE problem which is

quite varied. However, some general things that can

be drawn from the innovativeness of all SEs studied

are as follows: (1) SE had a clear vision and

purpose; (2) there is a socialization program aiming

to equalize the perception and rhythm of work

related to the mindset of the target group; (3)

implementing standardization and SOPs to maintain

the quality of results; (4) managing organizations

professionally with a business approach and profit

oriented, but most of the profits were used for social

purposes; (5) concerning about sustainability issues

by paying great attention to financial independence

in the long term.

3.3 Benefits of SE

Similar to the essence of the activity of social

entrepreneurships that are born to overcome various

social problems in the community, it is only natural

that it is expected that the social entrepreneurship

movement can have a significant positive impact on

society. Based on the results of observations and

interviews with the key informants of this study, a

number of positive impacts from SE were obtained

and summarized in Table 4.

There are a number of positive impacts from

social entrepreneurships movements from the

objects of research recognized by all SEs. These

positive impacts or the benefits of the SE movement

studied can be grouped into 3 benefit groups, namely

economic benefits, socio-cultural benefits, and

environmental benefits. The three benefit groups are

summarized in the following table.

In this study, it is seen that despite of most

positive economic impacts, the positive impact of

SE in the socio-cultural field is also equally

important. The benefits of social culture such as the

occurrence of positive behavioural changes in the

target group are considered as important issues,

because these positive behavioural changes can

support the achievement of sustainable economic

benefits.

Driving Factors, Innovativeness and Beneﬁts of Social Entrepreneurships: Learning from Cases in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia

373

Table 4: Benefit Categories of Social Enterprises

Benefit Category

Forms of Benefit

Economic Benefits

Increased business productivity, Increased income and welfare of the target

group, Opening new job opportunities, decreasing unemployment, opening the

market, Product standardization and product quality improvement, Increased

marketing capabilities.

Socio-cultural Benefits

The young generation wants to go back to the village, Becoming an initiator

and inspiration for other communities, Increased power position of women in

the family, Positive behaviour changes (saving), Art and cultural sustainability

of health services at a low cost, Motivating young intellectuals to engage in SE

activities.

Environmental Benefits

Infrastructure such as roads and electricity are getting better, Forests /

ecosystems are maintained, Eco-friendly farming system.

Source: interview result-based primary data, 2017

3.4 Discussion

The results of this research from 6 cases of social

entrepreneurships from Thailand, Vietnam and

Indonesia indicated a proliferation of social

entrepreneurships in ASEAN countries. Ideally,

social entrepreneurships arise because of the social

problems in the community, which are expected that

through social enterprise that is managed

professionally and business oriented, the social

problems can be overcome and the impact continues

(Boschee & McClurg, 2003). Based on the scope

and understanding of SE, it can be seen that the SEs

examined were close to the ideal definition of the SE

in question.

From this study, it was found that the

background to the emergence of SE initiation was

generally driven by economic problems revolved

around the problems of poverty, poor health and

education, high unemployment and low productivity

of traditional agricultural or handicraft products.

However, some SEs also highlighted environmental

issues and cultural sustainability. This finding was in

line with several other studies which confirmed that

the purpose of organizing social enterprise was to

overcome social problems in the community as the

background of establishing SE (Konda, Starc, &

Rodica, 2015; Kostetska & Berezyak, 2014; Lan,

Zhu, Ness, Xing, & Schneider, 2014). Even on a

macro level, the role of SE was expected to have an

impact on poverty reduction or in other words SE

could improve people's welfare (Widiastuti &

Margaretha, 2011).

The majority of SE initiators in this study came

from local communities so that the scope of the SE

formed was more focused and regional. Most of the

SEs studied were initiated by founders who were

relatively young who were less than 30 years and

had a minimum of formal education background.

The SE field run by founders had an in-line

relationship with formal founders' educational

background. There was a possibility that the

relatively young age and educational background

that matched the field of SE established was a factor

supporting the success of the SE studied. Some

literatures emphasize that there are a number of key

characteristics of social entrepreneurs that will

determine the success in the development of

SE.Rusli et al., (2012)assessed that SE will succeed

if it involves social entrepreneurs who have

transformative power with innovative ideas, are able

to face major problems, and have a tireless attitude

in realizing their vision until they succeed.

Furthermore, London et al., (2014)andLan, Zhu,

Ness, Xing, & Schneider (2014)stated that to deal

with severe social problems, social entrepreneurs

who have entrepreneurial experience are broad-

minded and able to produce innovative ideas. Strong

aspirations from the actors of social

entrepreneurship are also a determining factor in the

fighting power and success of social

entrepreneurs(Roy, Brumagim, & Goll, 2014).

In achieving their vision, social entrepreneurs

need creativity and innovative ideas, because the

task of a founder is to take the initiative, gather all

resources and build an organization to achieve

sustainable results. The results of the interviews

showed that the SEs who considered to be successful

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had various innovative strategies and programs.

Each SE had a specific target group that was part of

a weak, vulnerable, poor, marginalizes and small

group of people such as poor rural communities,

agricultural laborers, street children, disadvantaged

indigenous people, young job seekers, and minority

women's groups.

According to the scope of the innovative

programs implemented by all SE actors, there was

an application of the community empowerment

principle in it which was an understanding of the

cultural patterns of local communities; and the

community development program implemented

should involve local communities’ active

participation (Rusliet al., 2012). In addition, the

success of a SE was possible because it was assumed

that the SEs studied were concerned about SE

sustainability for the long term by emphasizing the

financial independence principle from the start. The

importance of this independence was in accordance

with the findings of a number of previous studies.

Diochon (2013) and Zhang & Swanson (2014)

emphasized the importance of SE in order to be

sustainable, so it is necessary to achieve the main

goal of self-sufficiency rather than achieving other

short-term oriented economic goals.

In relation to the positive benefits or impacts of

SE, the results of the study indicated that there were

three groups of benefits generated, namely economic

benefits, socio-cultural benefits and environmental

benefits. However, economic benefits still

dominated the other two benefit groups. The

existence of these benefits showed that the SEs

studied were more focused on the impact creation

and not only on profit creation(Ormiston &

Seymour, 2011).

Finally, in the process of performing SE

activities, all SEs studied run SE organizations in a

professional manner with business minded and profit

oriented, but the profit obtained from SE activities

were mostly used for the development of social

projects in line with the SE's vision and mission.

This was in accordance with the characteristics of

SE in a true sense as stated by Prof. J. Gregory Dees

of Stanford University (1998 at Boschee &

McClurg, 2003)that social entrepreneurship

combines the resourcefulness of traditional

entrepreneurship with a mission to change society

with five factors that define social entrepreneurship,

namely: adopting a mission to create and sustain

social value, not only on private value; recognizing

and relentlessly pursuing new opportunities to serve

that mission; engaging in a process of continuous

innovation, adaptation, and learning; acting boldly

without being limited by current resources in hand;

and exhibiting a heightened sense of accountability

to the constituencies served and for the outcomes

created.

4 CONCLUSION AND

SUGGESTION

4.1 Conclusion

Based on this research, several points could be

concluded. Social entrepreneurship appeared as a

result of social problems in the community, which

included economic issues such as poverty, poor

health and education, high unemployment and low

productivity of traditional agricultural or handicraft

products; as well as environmental issues and

cultural sustainability.

The characteristics of founders or social

entrepreneurs such as age, level of formal education,

entrepreneurial mastery and educational background

in accordance with the field of SE established were

assumed to be factors supporting the success of an

SE.

To succeed, SE needed to have innovative

strategies and programs and had a clear target group.

In addition, in the implementation of the program, it

was necessary to understand the cultural patterns of

local communities and community development

programs carried out together with the community.

Besides, SE also needed to pay attention to the long-

term-SE sustainability by emphasizing the financial

independence principle from the start.

SE had a positive impact on society which could

be categorized into three groups of benefits, namely

economic benefits, socio-cultural benefits and

environmental benefits. These benefits proved that

an SE was more focused on the impact creation than

profit creation.

In the real sense of the SE characteristics, there

were two fundamental aspects that were always

present in a social enterprise which was the

existence of a social mission underlying the birth of

the SE and the business model, namely how social

enterprises were run professionally with business

minded and profit oriented yet the profit obtained

from SE activities were mostly used for the

development of social projects in line with the SE's

vision and mission.

4.2 Suggestion

Based on this research, several suggestions could

be appointed. The government of a country must

better facilitate the birth of development agents in

Driving Factors, Innovativeness and Beneﬁts of Social Entrepreneurships: Learning from Cases in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia

375

the community, because they will become actors of

social change that use entrepreneurship as an

approach to their activities. It is expected that social

entrepreneurship can help the process of alleviating

various social problems in a country. There have

been many examples that the rapid progress of SE in

developed countries has received much support from

the government(Kaneko, 2013).

There needs to be a recognition or appreciation

for individuals or institutions for social

entrepreneurs who have a broad impact on the

transformation of people's lives. Moreover, there

needs to be appropriate incentives for the creation

and development of social enterprises(Konda et al.,

2015).

Lastly, there needs to be more support from

various elements such as industry, society and

academia towards the social entrepreneurship

movement in a country, which can generate mutual

benefits for all parties.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was supported by The General

Directorate of Reinforcement and Development of

The Ministry of Higher Education Research

Technological Researching Indonesia.

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