Social Entrepreneurship has become a global phenomenon that impacts the lives of citizens by using innovative approaches to solving social problems. Academic interest in the topic has focused on practitioner events (such as show case conferences, best practice cases, managerial publications) and teaching in MBA electives. Social entrepreneurship, however, has not been subject to rigorous academic analysis. As a result, we have a limited understanding of the theoretical foundations of this phenomenon.

To address this void, we are convening a social entrepreneurship research conference that focuses on making scholarly contributions to the field. This knowledge generating event will bring scholars from around the world to Barcelona to present their theories and frameworks for understanding social entrepreneurship.

We expect the outcomes of this conference to be
1) the refinement of theoretical concepts and scholarly ideas regarding this area of research.
2) the establishment of a research network for thought leadership and knowledge generation in social entrepreneurship.
3) the planning of future scholarly activities.
Our convening will be a step toward securing creative partnerships and cross-national research projects that will broaden our understanding of this important phenomenon.

For the purpose of this conference we view social entrepreneurship broadly as the process of using entrepreneurial and business skills to create innovative approaches to social problems. Social entrepreneurs find innovative ways to address issues such as poverty, education, environmental protection, or health. They do this through pure for-profit firms, pure not-forprofits, as well as a large number of hybrid organizational forms. We are seeking both empirical and conceptual/theoretical papers from scholars interested in social entrepreneurship as a global phenomenon and encourage submissions that apply different perspectives and theoretical lenses.

1. Innovation: What types of social impact innovations are developed in social ventures? Where do they come from? How are they implemented?
   
2. Performance Metrics: How do social entrepreneurs understand success and which measures do they use to assess their performance? What are the possibilities and limits of approaches such as the social return on investment (S-ROI) analysis?
   
3. Social Venture Capital Markets: Are the financing mechanisms and criteria for social venture capital different from those from traditional venture capital? What theories might explain the underdevelopment of the social venture capital markets?
   
4. Demographics: What are the typical sectors social ventures emerge in? Are there differences by country? What is the typical size, growth, and ownership structure?
   
5. Networks: Can the characteristics of social networks influence the sustainability of social entrepreneurial ventures?
   
6. Public policy: In what way would policy measures differ, if at all, for facilitating the sustainability of social entrepreneurial ventures?
   
7. Values: What role can values (ethical or moral) play in ensuring the sustainability of newly formed ventures?
   
8. Strategic considerations: How do social ventures establish their value net? Do social ventures require specific resource strategies?
   
9. Organizational development: What role do systems and processes play in ensuring the sustainability of the social venture?
   
10. Governance: What role do governance mechanisms play in ensuring the sustainability of the social entrepreneurial venture over time?
    
11. Exit: What are typical exit strategies for social ventures? How do these differ from traditional ventures? How can social ventures maintain their mission beyond the exit of the founding team?
    
12. Sustainable Development: How can social entrepreneurship play a role in sustainable development?

Interested parties should submit full papers by January 10, 2005 via e-mail to iserc@stern.nyu.edu. Papers will be reviewed by a panel. Participants will be informed about acceptance by February 10, 2005.
For more information about the conference, contact us via e-mail at iserc@stern.nyu.edu. We look forward to an engaging discussion in Barcelona.

The Conveners of the International Social Entrepreneurship Research Conference (ISERC)
Johanna Mair, Ph.D., IESE Business School
Jeffrey Robinson, Ph.D., New York University, Stern School of Business
Kai Hockerts, Ph.D., INSEAD