The title of my doctoral thesis is “Growth of technology-based social enterprises in the manufacturing sector”. I conducted in-depth case studies on leading technology-based social enterprises in Cambridge to understand their process of growth.
This research stems from the recent intersection of two entrepreneurship streams – technology and social – that has given rise to the emergence of technology-based social enterprises (TSEs). TSEs are of particular interest to many stakeholders as they have the potential to provide scalable solutions from a technological perspective to address diverse social challenges in the world. However, a review of the literature revealed a gap in knowledge on the growth process of TSEs because:
- TSEs are an emerging phenomenon;
- existing research on technology enterprises has predominantly focused on issues related to profit and value maximization;
- existing research on social enterprises and non-profits typically do not have a technology focus.
To address the gap in knowledge, in-depth case studies were conducted on five prominent TSEs based in Cambridge, United Kingdom – Raspberry Pi, Simprints, WaterScope, Solaware, and Blue Tap. This study provides contributions to theory through the development of a conceptual framework to describe the growth process of TSEs.
Workshop in progress. From left: Helen Lundebye (Simprints), Lewis Beresford (Fodda), Eben Upton (Raspberry Pi), Bang Ming Yong (researcher of the thesis), Nalin Patel (WaterScope).
Populated workshop chart.
Proposed conceptual framework to describe growth process of TSEs.
- An excerpt fom the introduction section in my thesis:
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Technological advancement has largely done wonders for improving humanity’s quality of life. An integral enabler of continuous technological advancement at scale is the commercialization of those technological advancement through enterprise, typically in the form of corporations. Due to the capital and knowledge intensive nature of developing and commercializing new technology, there is typically a strong emphasis on prioritizing large financial returns to recoup the investments made and to reward those who have taken the risks and/or create the most value. This implies a focus on markets that would bring the most financial profits for the enterprise.
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Most organizations that are not focused on commercial activities such as non-profits are typically unable to engage in technology-based activities (that requires research and development). This is due to the relatively high level of risks involved in investing in capital and knowledge intensive activities – not to mention, for a market segment which may not bring much financial returns to recoup investments (if otherwise, commercial technology-based enterprises would have already entered the market). As a result, these “bottom billion” (Prahalad, 2012) market segments that are mainly in developing countries, are left out of many life-improving technological solutions (Radjou & Prabhu, 2015). However, the emergence of a new phenomenon – “technology-based social enterprises” (TSEs) – indicates that there is a way for organizations to organise resources to enable them to engage in technology-based activities for markets which may not be financially lucrative. The key motivation for the research topic in this thesis stems from the desire to understand the process of how TSEs from Cambridge were able to engage in capital and knowledge intensive activities such as technology development and manufacturing, yet not focused on markets which will maximise financial returns.