Business Models in the Social Venture

The need for informed and well-structured business models underpinning social ventures designed to address the societal challenges of our times is great. This chapter begins by defining sustainability and highlighting its growing significance. Sustainability is recognized as a shared objective among diverse organizations striving to create a positive societal impact. Continuing, a focus on the concept of a business model and its recent developments is reviewed and asserts that social ventures and commercial enterprises have mutually influenced the development of each other’s business models. Additionally, the evolution, research, and development of business model theory through to practice, the components that underpin them, and their observed typologies and archetypes will be discussed in context of social ventures. This chapter identifies social ventures (or equally, social enterprises) as organizations that prioritize social over economic goals while drawing a critical share of their income from engaging in markets. The conclusion offers illustrative examples of business model categorizations and archetypes specifically within the realm of social ventures.