Business model with a social impact

Abstract

Among the alternatives in the pursuit of sustainable development are businesses with a social impact, i.e., those businesses created to meet some type of social demand via a profitable operation. The aim of this study was to propose a business model with a social impact that can help identifying the elements of such businesses. The business model proposed differs from existing ones in that it combines a number of said models and mainly in that it details the elements that form it. Our method was based on secondary data collected from documentary research, and primary data from interviews and questionnaires, totaling 49 organizations. The model consists of 5 dimensions formed by 13 elements. As additional contributions, we present a proposal for the definition of Businesses with a Social Impact (BSI) and a taxonomy, considering products/services, clients, and profit structure.