Exploring the social business models: The case of ECHOstore and greenius

• Main Authors: Habaradas, Raymund B., Aure, Patrick Adriel H.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2016
• Subjects: Social entrepreneurship; Business
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/11968
• Institution: De La Salle University

The purpose of this paper is to explore and compare the social business models of two Philippine social enterprises: ECHOstore Sustainable Lifestyle and Greenius. In a commercial perspective, both social enterprises are involved in retailing eco-friendly products while in a social value perspective, they work with communities as supposed target beneficiaries. Through a qualitative case study methodology (Yin, 2003), we will examine the merits and points for improvement of the two aforementioned enterprises using learnings. To aid in generating richer insights, we will adopt learnings from the business model frameworks of Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010) and Yunus et al. (2010) – the former known for the ‘Business Model Canvas’ framework and the latter a Nobel Peace Prize winner for his social entrepreneurship work in Bangladesh through the Grameen Bank. This study is significant as it attempts to address both a research and practice gap of understanding better how to manage a business model that aims to balance, if not reconcile, multiple value propositions. Social business models enable social enterprise managers, owners, and even scholars to have a more holistic perspective of an enterprise, which aids not only strategic, but also systems thinking. Given the fast pace and uncertainties in managing today’s business, together with the added complexity of addressing a social need, it is imperative to understand how both commercial and value is created, delivered, and captured through the lens of a social business model.