| dc.description.abstract | Social entrepreneurship has emerged both as an active area of practice and research the last three decades. The concept appears both in politics, research and within different private institutions. However, there is no clear agreement on how to define the concept. This has resulted in various approaches to the concept. In this thesis I will shed light on the way the concept of social entrepreneurship is presented by different actors within different systems, political system, economic system, and science system. I have tried to map the semantic field surrounding the concept, using Koselleck´s (1985) conceptual history approach. I’m using key terms from Koselleck’s framework, and I will subsequently offer a discussion of the implicit power that may hide in the semantic filed. The analysis indicates no clear definition of the concept but introduce a web of concepts appearing in the semantic field, which highlight the main characteristics of social entrepreneurship. This web of concepts contained mostly of supporting concepts, and most concepts were found within all systems. There were observed some variation in the presentation of the concept depending on which system the actors where embedded in. However, it generally seems like the different systems infiltrate each other, and that even though the concept may have somewhat different presentation, one can see these terms and concepts in its semantic field is being used interchangeably throughout the different systems. This can testify to cooperation between these systems where they can derive legitimacy, capital, and credibility from each other. | en_US |
