Assessing the Sustainable Value Creation of New-Gen Social Enterprises

The Master of Science in Sustainability Management Program of the John Gokongwei School of Management invites all the members of the Loyola Schools community to the Thesis Defense of Mr. George Isaac Y. Go (MS in Sustainability Management candidate) on April 20, 2022 at 9:00 in the morning (online).

Mr. Go’s thesis entitled, "Assessing the Sustainable Value Creation of New-Gen Social Enterprises" will be presented to Mr. David Edward G. Jimenez, MBA, Dr. John Luis D. Lagdameo and Mr. Joselito C. Olpoc, MS.  His adviser is Dr. Ma. Assunta C. Cuyegkeng.

Abstract

Social enterprises (SEs) are businesses that adopt social missions. As a result, it is assumed that they create sustainable value; however, this is not always the case. To answer this question, the researcher explored available assessment tools such as the Integrated Social Value, Social Enterprise Model Questionnaire and the Framework for Comparing Social Value Creation; however, these tools calculated social value creation rather than sustainable value creation (SVC).

By using thematic analysis on the interview transcripts of ten new-generation social enterprises (New-Gen SEs), an assessment tool for sustainable value creation was created. The identified themes were sorted according to the Hart & Milstein Framework, which was divided into quadrants separated by time (today-tomorrow) and by organizational environment (internal-external). The environmental, governance/economic, and social aspects from the identified
themes were sorted as well. In this study, economic aspects related to the internal operation of the SEs were classified as “governance” while those related to the initiatives involving the community or the SE’s beneficiaries were classified as economic. The resulting assessment tool, SVC-SE Assessment Tool, allows SEs to do a rapid assessment on how they generate environmental, economic, and social effectiveness, efficiency and resilience. A portfolio balance
indicates if the SE is creating sustainable value; resulting scores per aspect and quadrant can help the SE get a sense of individual performance. Th SVC-SE Assessment Tool was further evaluated for its effectiveness and user experience. The contribution of this study is a tool that can give a quick overview of the current SVC of the SE and can assist in planning for future activities.