Social capital and the target population

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to shed light on opportunities for social capital during the conceptualization and initial implementation of innovative social enterprises dedicated to violence prevention and youth empowerment in Brazil.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a two-tiered interview process over a nine-month period with 27 social entrepreneurs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, attention is given to with whom, where and in what ways these innovators accessed and utilized the skills and knowledge necessary to develop and administer social entrepreneurial programs.

Findings

The findings reveal more than any other social actor the target population featured most frequently in interviews with social entrepreneurs.

Research limitations/implications

Because of the small scale of the study and the specific focus of the social entrepreneurs, the implications of the study are not generalizable to social entrepreneurs across fields.

Practical implications

The findings are valuable because they can inform future social entrepreneurs dedicated to violence prevention and youth empowerment about social relations they may wish to cultivate to access relevant social resources during the initial stages of social entrepreneurship.

Social implications

Among other benefits, investing in social relations with the target population could help minimize top-down models, which have been a common criticism among third-sector social enterprises.

Originality/value

The value of this study is that it adds insight into how the social entrepreneurs built trust among this critical group of actors as well as an analysis of the outcome of the social capital embedded in relations with the target population during the initial stages of social entrepreneurship.

Citation

Scheiber, L.A. (2014), "Social capital and the target population", Social Enterprise Journal, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 121-134. https://doi.org/10.1108/SEJ-05-2013-0023