Social Entrepreneurship

Harnessing the power of entrepreneurship to drive positive societal change

Social entrepreneurship leverages the tools of imagination, creativity, and innovation to drive economic, social, and environmental value creation, and to advance positive change in our communities. The Social Innovation Center convenes the latest thinking, game-changing ideas, and lessons and insights from real-world social business cases to challenge the system, share and disseminate new solutions, and help build momentum toward real social and societal change through innovation.

The Social Innovation Center:

Generates and publishes world-class, peer-reviewed research into the success mechanisms, collaborations, and partnerships of social entrepreneurship initiatives – changing the system for the better.

Disseminates game-changing thinking and insights to inspire and guide practitioners and agents of start-ups and established organizations.

Provides a place of convening for researchers and practitioners alike to forge new ties, connections, and networks around bringing about societal change through commerce and innovation.

Seeks to educate and train the next generation of thinkers and scholars through dedicated and expert-led academic seminars and conferences.

Our faculty publish prolifically in the world’s most prestigious academic journals, addressing the most critical issues in social entrepreneurship and capturing the learnings from new and oftentimes ‘quirky’ ventures: lessons and sources of insight that have plenty to teach every type of organization in every sector or industry.

IMD’s focus on social entrepreneurship is led by Sophie Bacq, Professor of Social Entrepreneurship and Coca-Cola Foundation Chair in Sustainable Development. Sophie is a globally recognized authority on social entrepreneurship and change. Her work has garnered numerous prizes, including Best Article awards from the Journal of Management Studies and the Academy of Management Perspectives.

Want to increase the impact of your corporate philanthropy?

Sophie Bacq and António Calçada of the Repsol Foundation on how corporate philanthropy is shifting from charitable giving towards investing in social entrepreneurial ventures.

Social Entrepreneurship Doctoral Seminar

The Social Entrepreneurship Doctoral Seminar is a week-long seminar that provides an in-depth survey of recent Social Entrepreneurship scholarship. The next session will take place in August 2024 in Chicago.

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Annual Social Entrepreneurship Conference

The Annual Social Entrepreneurship Conference is the foremost gathering of scholars and practitioners globally, showcasing and sharing the latest thinking on social enterprise, sustainability, innovation, and societal impact. In April 2024 we celebrated the 20th anniversary of this event.

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“Social enterprises have long demonstrated that it is possible to balance financial viability with positive societal impact. They teach us the challenges to watch for and the organizational mechanisms to put in place as contemporary businesses contemplate their own impact on society.”

Sophie Bacq Professor of Social Entrepreneurship, Coca-Cola Foundation Chair in Sustainable Development and Director of the Social Entrepreneurship Initiative