ETR 5890 - Global Social Entrepreneurship & Business Ethics

(3) Credit Hours

Over the past 25 years, intense interest has emerged regarding the use of the concepts and tools of entrepreneurship to achieve social and environmental goals, a set of activities that has come to be known as ‘social entrepreneurship.’ Bill Drayton introduced the term ‘social entrepreneurship’ into the popular vernacular in the 1980s, and J. Gregory Dees is credited with making it an academic field of study in 1998. It has been defined in various ways, but for the purposes of this course, social entrepreneurship is the application of the mindset, tools, techniques, and skills of business entrepreneurship and the power of markets to the pursuit of a social mission (e.g., providing affordable housing to low income households, feeding the hungry, making a college education accessible to economically disadvantaged youth, etc.).

This course will explore the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of the field, its ethical implications, and its practice. International case studies and examples from practice will be used to illustrate ethical dilemmas faced by social entrepreneurs in a variety of cultures and contexts and to stimulate discussion. The aim is to provide the student with a complete understanding of social entrepreneurship – both its positive side and its dark side – in a global context. Open to MBA, MSDA, MSM, or MACC students only. Differential Course Fee will be assessed. Business Graduate Course Fee will be assessed.

Effective Spring 2025.