Historical-cultural overview of social business and impact businesses (NI)

Abstract

Social entrepreneurship initiatives have drawn attention due to the presence of structures and institutional arrangements of hybrid characteristics, sometimes closer to the business sector (business), sometimes closer to non-profit organizations (social). This work demonstrates the historical incursion that allowed us to understand the genesis of social business as a current practice in business-society relations. It seeks to foster the debate about the social and business in order to advance in the discussions of these relationships that occur in the organizational practices of impact business (NI). In this sense, the research presented here is part of the field of critical cultural studies, presenting a part of research based on the Grounded Theory (Glaser; Strauss, 1967). An internet search was carried out, following daily for 36 months, news, articles and new utterances on the terms “negócio social”, “social business” and “negócios de impacto”. The results critically discuss the processes of rationalization and modernization generated from the social production of hybrid organizational identities. The historical panorama of the impact sector that was outlined in the research, evidenced the socioeconomic trajectory of “social business” and, serving as a methodological resource, allowed us to envision the imbrication (social-business) as a historical change. The imbrication between social and business is shown as innovation in business practice and evidences a cultural paradigm that has been built over the last 75 years. It should be highlighted that such changes are directly influenced by Global Development Governance (GGD). The new business practices, based on social business, are the ultimate expression of this paradigm and this cultural change results in new types of business.