Article Gold Open Access 2012

The effectiveness of social business plan competitions in developing social and civic awareness and participation

Academy of Management Learning and Education
Journal · Vol. 11 · Issue 3 · pp. 324-348
Abstract

More and more universities are now delivering courses and programs to develop social awareness, but the literature on the effectiveness of these courses is currently very limited. With the introduction of "social entrepreneurship" as a new discipline within the wider ethics and social education banner, this pedagogic study explores the effectiveness of social business plan teaching in inducing social and civic awareness and intentionality among business school students. This is compared with the case study approach that is traditionally used within the classroom environment. Our study found that both approaches can be successful in raising awareness and improving the attitudes of participating students, increasing the probability that they will support socially oriented initiatives immediately or in the future. Interestingly, many students who participated in SBP teaching develop a local awareness of social and civic matters, while many of those who participated in case study learning develop a wider national and international perspective. In addition, it is found that many of those who participated in SBP development develop a deeper managerial and technical understanding of managing organizations within the social economy. © Academy of Management Learning & Education.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Not provided

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations
University of Essex, Colchester, Essex, United Kingdom
Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom
Funding & Acknowledgements
No funding information
References 10 References
1 Aberbach, Joel D., Conducting and coding elite interviews, PS - Political Science and Politics, 35, 4, pp. 673-676, (2002)
2 Alavi, Maryam, Using IT to reengineer business education: An exploratory investigation of collaborative telelearning, MIS Quarterly: Management Information Systems, 19, 3, pp. 293-311, (1995)
3 Business Ethics A European Review, (2008)
4 Academy of Management Journal, (1978)
5 Alsop, Ronald J., Business ethics education in business schools: A commentary—, Journal of Management Education, 30, 1, pp. 11-14, (2006)
6 Altheide, David L., Reflections: Ethnographic content analysis, Qualitative Sociology, 10, 1, pp. 65-77, (1987)
7 Placing the Social Economy, (2002)
8 Armendáriz, Beatriz, On mission drift in microfinance institutions, The Handbook of Microfinance, pp. 341-366, (2011)
9 Astin, Alexander W., How Undergraduates Are Affected by Service Participation, Journal of College Student Development, 39, 3, pp. 251-263, (1998)
10 Astin, Alexander W., Long-term effects of volunteerism during the undergraduate years, Review of Higher Education, 22, 2, pp. 187-202, (1999)
Quick Actions
Full Text via DOI
Citation Metrics
64
Times Cited (Scopus)

References 10
Document Identifiers