Mittuniversitetet

Social entrepreneurs and social enterprises are a group of initiatives that contribute to sustainable development by focusing on social values rather than, among other things, economic gain and continuous growth. Many social entrepreneurs run their business similar to a company, but any surplus from the business goes to contributing to increased social value in society. This group of entrepreneurs has a lot of knowledge and experience to share.

Quality technology and Management at Mid Sweden University offers a course (since 2011) that focuses on understanding the customer values that are created through the social entrepreneurial initiatives. In the course, students examine both the specific customer values that are created and the factors that create these values. Society is in constant need of development, so the focus within the course is also to identify the initiatives that are leading and innovative in their areas. Students design and conduct a case study, which is presented in the form of a film.

Over the years, we have learned that several of the initiatives studied create value for people who otherwise find it difficult to fit into the structures and norms of existing societies. In addition, there are lessons learned that weave the social aspect with the ecological aspect of sustainability, thus creating values that extend beyond the local community and beyond the direct customer relationship. The studies conducted provide several pictures of how sustainable initiatives, driven by social entrepreneurs, address leadership, organisation and funding. Until now, our students have visited 41 different initiatives around the world. You may see their films at https://vimeo.com/samhallsentreprenorskap. The reader of this poster will learn about the important relationship between customer value and sustainable practice and how to develop it from the perspective of quality management.