Centre for Service Management

News and Events

23 Aug 2017

SBE research team’s new social innovation in emerging markets project

M.N. Ravishankar

A research team led by the School’s International Business, Strategy and Innovation (IBSI) discipline group will partner with Uniting to Sustain and Assist Himalayan Communities (UTSAAH) - a UK-based charity - to explore ways in which social enterprises in the Indian Himalayas can develop sustainable business strategies that also meet developmental goals.

The research team will conduct several rounds of fieldwork over the next three years and map the socio-cultural, economic and environmental coordinates of social entrepreneurship in the Himalayan mountains. This research exercise will contribute to the creation of a structured framework for improving decision making processes within social enterprises, as well as produce articles that will showcase the significance of social entrepreneurship for the region.

The School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University has an established record of engaging in India-centric social innovation and entrepreneurship research, supporting social enterprises and business start-ups and helping students recognise the value of volunteering with social enterprises.  

Prof M.N. Ravishankar will lead the research team, which includes Dr Silvia Masiero (CSM member), Dr Michelle Richey, Dr Andrei Gurca (former SBE doctoral researcher who is currently with NEOMA Business School, France) and Dr Sandeep Mysore (former SBE doctoral researcher who is currently with University of New South Wales, Australia). The team will be supported by talented SBE doctoral researchers and a small group of India-based researchers in this exciting project.

UTSAAH supports entrepreneurial activities in the Himalayas, which specifically aim at creating a collective consciousness and value based transitions in the social fabric of the local communities. Speaking of the partnership with SBE, Dr Arun Harish, Co-Founder and Chairperson of UTSAAH commented:

"UTSAAH is delighted to partner with experienced researchers from Loughborough University in this project. We expect tangible outcomes and recommendations to the social entrepreneurs in the Himalayas that would help them sustain and scale-up their operations and deliver impact in these extremely challenging and remote rural Himalayan communities".