Tackling economic exclusion through social business models: a typology

This article contributes to on-going research on social business
models by establishing a link with arguably one of the most
salient global challenges we are confronted with today: economic
exclusion. We conceive of economic exclusion broadly as a lack
of access to salaried employment, finance, or essential goods and
services. Addressing how and to what extent social business
models can alleviate economic exclusion, we first review and
synthesize various bodies of literature on grand challenges and
social business models to unpack the constitutive factors of
economic exclusion and the constraints social businesses face in
their attempts to alleviate them. Based on these insights, and
inspired by former works, we draw up a typology of 12 ideal-type
social business models. In doing so, we illustrate how each model
operates, based on the specific configuration of business model
elements required to overcome the relevant barriers underpinning
economic exclusion. The main contribution the paper makes
is to advance a typology of ideal-type social business models
covering the diverse constraints pertaining to economic exclusion.
In concluding, we reflect on this contribution, its limitations
and avenues for future research.