Course syllabus

Detailed syllabus for TEK237 – Social innovation and social entrepreneurship

Department of Technology Management and Economics
Division of Science, Technology and Society

Session: Spring 2026, study period 3

Main teacher: PhD Josefin Persdotter, Email: josefin.persdotter@chalmers.se

Examiner: Associate Professor Catharina Landström, E-mail: catharina.landstrom@chalmers.se

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Course aims

The purpose of the course is to introduce students to notions of social innovation and social entrepreneurship and discuss the extent to which contemporary societal challenges (e.g. energy, climate change, equity, gender justice, biodiversity and pandemics) can be addressed through these means. The course provides students with tools to identify local and global trends, assess and analyse socially innovative and entrepreneurial initiatives, and gives them an opportunity to discuss and develop their own prospective initiatives within this field.

Course content

The course covers four overlapping themes:

1. Introduction and key concepts: What is social innovation? What is social entrepreneurship?
2. The need for social innovation and social entrepreneurship: Why are these concepts on the agenda at the present time? What are the social challenges to be addressed, and why is social innovation and entrepreneurship deemed necessary?
3. Social innovation: How do social innovations emerge? How can this innovativeness be fostered?
4. Social entrepreneurship: How is social enterprise organized? What are the business models for creating an entrepreneurial venture that is socially and ecologically sustainable? What are the sources of financing for social entrepreneurial ventures? How can such ventures scale up and become replicated?

 

Course Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)

• Demonstrate an understanding of various notions of social innovation and social entrepreneurship.
• Demonstrate an understanding of social innovation and social entrepreneurship in relation to broader societal developments.
• Demonstrate an understanding of how social innovation emerges and is fostered.

 

The course will thus provide an opportunity for students to broaden their knowledge about social innovation and social entrepreneurship, and at the same time develop necessary tools and skills to develop socially innovative and entrepreneurial initiatives.

 

SMALLER COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

Students receive points for smaller assignments throughout the course, which are graded pass/fail. Some are carried out in class; some are carried out independently of the course schedule. All assignments are handed in through canvas.

Weekly written assignments

Each of the first 5 course weeks there are weekly written assignments. Detailed instructions for each week can be found on Assignments on Canvas, but all assignments should: 1) be about 1-2 pages long; 2) utilize and reference relevant course literature (with exact page numbers, and according to APA7 referencing format); and 3) be submitted via Canvas Assignments.

The written assignments should be submitted before the end of the course, but all students are encouraged to submit them weekly to avoid a too heavy workload during the last course weeks.

By writing the weekly assignments, each student will build up a resource that they can use in the writing of their final report.

Quizzes

Respond to a few questions on key concepts. The quizzes are available on canvas.

In class reflections

After each workshop or case study lecture, all present students reflect in written through a digital poll, distributed in class.

 

COURSE REPORT & ORAL PRESENTATION

As main examination students write a report and do an oral presentation on either:

1. a) a potential social innovation or social venture that the students may or may not choose to establish, or
   b) a specific aspect of an already existing social innovation or social venture.

In the report it is important that the student identifies and clearly describes the social and/or environmental problem that the innovation or venture is contributing to solve. It is expected that the report reflects knowledges from the mandatory literature – all done via proper referencing to author(s), book title and page number. The report should demonstrate knowledge of the terms social innovation and social entrepreneurship coming from mandatory literature. It should cover themes both related to the organization of the venture or innovation, such as business model, structure, funding, and potential to scale; as well as themes related to the problem such as in what ways the venture or innovation might help solve the issue identified.

The report should be written in English using correct grammar, language, and clearly referencing mandatory course literature.

The reports are to be written individually or in pairs and should be 3000 to 3300 or 5000 to 5300 words long respectively, excluding reference list.

The report is handed in through Canvas.

In the final week of the course, all students do an oral presentation of the key findings of their report. The oral presentation should include 1) a description of the social problem at hand, 2) what your chosen enterprise/innovation does to help that problem; 3) one or two examples of something about this that you personally find most fascinating or interesting, and 4) a critical reflection (e.g. What are some of the risks that you see? What are some potential negative consequences? Do the venture's activities really align with their aims? Etc.)

If students write in a pair, both do an individual oral presentation

 

GRADING

The grading is structured in the following way: A student can attain a total score of 100 points.

1. The student receives a maximum of 40 points for the smaller course assignments (graded pass/fail)

• The report is awarded with a maximum of 30 points.
• The oral presentation of findings from the report is awarded with a maximum of 30 points.

The report and the oral presentation are assessed based on content (do the propositions and arguments reflect the issues discussed during the course?) and form (are propositions and arguments clearly and succinctly communicated?).

The grading criteria for each are presented below.

The points are added into a total score: Scoring 40 – 59 points yields grade 3, scoring 60 – 79 points yields grade 4, and 80 – 100 points yields grade 5.

The criteria for grading the reports

• 1-10 points: To receive a mark in this span, the report should follow the basic guidelines above.
• 11-20 points: To receive a mark in this span, the report needs to engage in several aspects of the literature and show how these connect with the venture or innovation. The report should be well structured and written. Using and referencing a minimum four sources from the list of mandatory literature.
• 21-30 points: To receive a mark in this span, the report needs to engage in several aspects of the literature and show how these connect with the venture or innovation as well as critically reflect on venture and/or concepts from the literature. The report should be very well structured and written. Using and referencing a minimum six references from the mandatory literature.

The criteria for grading the oral presentations

Up to five points are given on each of these six aspects:

• Problem clarity & significance (is the “why” obvious and evidenced?)
• Venture mechanics (how it works, for whom, etc.?)
• Course literature integrated (are concepts used correctly? are key themes from relevant course literature used?)
• Critical reflection (e.g. risks, trade-offs, alignment with aims, potential negative consequences)
• Structure & delivery (clear storyline, readable visuals, time-kept)
• Engagement & Q&A (audience connection, accurate and concise answers)

 

MISCELLANEOUS

The Canvas website is the main source of information. Students may receive feedback on the report and grade on a scheduled time close to the publication of grades (date will be announced through Canvas).

 

Mandatory readings

Textbook

• Kickul, J. & T.S. Lyons (2020 or 2025) Understanding Social Entrepreneurship: The relentless pursuit of mission in an ever changing world. London, Routledge. (Available at the Chalmers Library.

• De Bruin, A., & Teasdale, S. (Eds.). (2019). A research agenda for social entrepreneurship. Edward Elgar (available as pdf on Canvas).

Recommended chapters for specific modules can be found in the course schedule 

 

Articles or separate chapters

• Algahtani, S., Xiong, L., & Cunningham, J. (2025). Gradually changing society: women entrepreneurs and institutional change in Saudi Arabia. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 1-20.
• Cornforth, C. (2014). Understanding and combating mission drift in social enterprises. Social enterprise journal, 10(1), 3-20.
• Hultman, M., Bonnedahl, K. J., & O'Neill, K. J. (2016). Unsustainable societies–sustainable businesses? Introduction to special issue of small enterprise research on transitional Ecopreneurs. Small Enterprise Research, 23(1), 1-9.
• Kılınçarslan, Ö., & Efeoğlu, İ. E. (2024). Is Social Entrepreneurship an Oxymoron? A Value-Based Analysis of ‘Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing’. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 1-21.
• Punzi, M. C., & Werner, M. (2020). Challenging the menstruation taboo one sale at a time: The role of social entrepreneurs in the period revolution. The Palgrave handbook of critical menstruation studies, 833-851.
• Santos, F., Salvado, J. C., De Carvalho, I. L., & Schulte, U. G. (2013). The life cycle of social innovations. In Social innovation: Solutions for a sustainable future (pp. 183-195). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
• Schöning, M. (2013). Social entrepreneurs as main drivers of social innovation. In Social innovation: Solutions for a sustainable future (pp. 111-118). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
• Stevenson, A. (2021). Constructing the 'social' in social entrepreneurship: A postcolonial perspective. Chapters 2 and 3.
• Tucker, R., & Croom, R. M. (2021). A xenophilic perspective of social entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 15, e00217.

 All articles are available on Canvas as pdfs.

 

Recommended optional readings & digital resources

You find optional readings and other materials at the specific module in Canvas as well as in course files. Feel free to read, listen to and watch as well as use them to deepen your knowledge about social innovation and entrepreneurship.