Blended Value Accounting and Social Enterprise Success Title

Purpose The purpose of this quantitative research study is to ascertain if social enterprises (SE) are using blended value accounting (BVA), and if so whether the use of BVA is correlated with the success of the firm. A social enterprise is a private business founded and managed in order to deliver positive social change. Blended value accounting is a method of calculating both the financial and social returns delivered by social enterprises.

Statement of the Problem Social enterprise is a major trend in international development and social change. SEs are often required to measure their social impact, either by impact investors or legal requirements. The effective use of BVA may be one critical success factor that enables SEs to be successful. As a field of study, SE and especially the measurement of social impact in SEs lacks empirical and quantitative analysis. There is a substantial gap in knowledge about whether SEs are using BVA, what BVA methods they are using, and if the use of BVA is correlated with SE success.

The theoretical framework for this study is a construct called entrepreneurial orientation (EO), combined with a construct called social orientation (SO). EO is used by entrepreneurship researchers to study how small and medium enterprises (SME) are successful; research demonstrates that higher EO levels in SMEs is correlated with greater SME success. SO is a measurement of the degree to which an organization is motivated to improve society. I combine EO and SO in my dissertation to form a new construct I call social/entrepreneurial orientation (S/EO). Theoretical Framework

A problem in SE research is a lack of definition and specificity to distinguish SEs from other organizational forms. In my definition, an SE is a subset of SME, which is defined as a private business with fewer than 250 employees. My definition of an SE is an SME with a high S/EO score, measured using Likert-type scales. SE Definition

Research Questions* Regression research question: Does the use of BVA, the independent variable measured nominally, statistically significantly predict the success of the firm, the dependent variable? H 0 1: The use of BVA – the independent variable (measured nominally), does not statistically significantly predict firm success. H A 1: The BVA method (measured nominally) – the independent variable does statistically significantly predict the positive direction of firm success. *Note: There are two variations on the research question. The first uses multiple regression, and the second logistic regression after converting data into a categorical dependent variable.

Research Methodology Collect population of social enterprises by using existing directories and internet research. Goal is at least 3,000 cases. Send surveys to all cases, with repeated follow up. Offer access to data and other incentives to reduce non-response error. Analyze data using descriptive statistics, and then multiple and logistic regression to test for correlation and a directional relationship between the use of BVA and SE success.

Research Design A = Independent Variable B = Control Variables C = Dependent Variable