Newer
paradigms in social entreprises emphasize a win-win situation for both
entrepreneurs and consumers. The seven scalers mentioned in the Harvard
Business Review[1]
article enforce the interactive effects of feasibility, viability and
desirability: critical elements in catalyzing diffusion of any human-centered social
venture. In the context of business modules for the very poor, the scalers allow
both the innovator and consumer to mutually benefit from a product either
through profit making or an add-on service to solve social need, be it, in
energy, education or healthcare.
The
partnership between Coca and Cola and One Degree Solar (makers of Brightbox
solar powered device)[2]
symbolizes how alliance building can maximize the benefit from the perspective
of scalability. Effectively, Coca Cola acts a platform by positioning in order
for the other partner (One Degree Solar) to commercialize a technology that has
relatively high capital costs that the average consumer in an emerging economy who
may not be able to afford the product. To this end, strategic partnerships
build on the observability and trialability as well as historical lessons on
the spread of mobile telephony and digital technologies globally. In the
innovation ecosystem, joint venture like the Brightbox one provide extra
benefits besides electricity access for cellular charging stations; viewing and
community centers for sports and films – activities that can foster social
cohesion from technology enablers.
The
Coca Cola project mirrors the experience of digitized education enabled through
learning management systems (LMS) and MOOCs. Social innovations arising from
these trends have the web as an ICT supply chain platform and the prestige of
academic institutions like Stanford or MIT to accelerate knowledge diffusion
through replication of the business model. Both the entrepreneurs and students
(consumers) benefit from these ventures because the seemingly complex approach
is human-centered and yet compatible with pedagogy.
Another
successful example of the application of the scalability method is the innovative shelter for refugees
designed by Ikea.
Ikea is able to leverage the credibility of its global brand value in
partnership with international humanitarian organizations like the UNHCR to
provide viable solution of social problem –involuntary migration. In this
instance, the United Nations acts as platform because of its worldwide reach
with requisite manpower.
Social
ventures like these that incorporate alliances are quite efficient in
addressing a market need. At the same, a few important questions about balance
in partnerships are quite legitimate. If a sugary beverage firm or any fast
food chain for that matter, is taking advantage of lack of electrification to
increase its supply chain, would they also be willing to take care of potential
health conditions (i.e. diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other so-called
rich man diseases) that might potentially crop up in the long term, in a remote
region? While industrialized countries and urban cities may be equipped to
handle such public health issues, rural areas are still grappling with easily
treatable infections among others. Therefore, for scalable social ventures, a
holistic approach is required in order to optimally introduce innovations
grounded in long-term positive impact.
In a profit-driven system, is
this situation tractable or could the end result be a case of a ‘hand-up’
becoming ‘hand-out’?
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