Connecting Two Sides: A Qualitative Study on Social Innovation Ventures and Poor Communities in an Emerging Economy

The relationship between social innovation venture and poor communities has received little attention from studies in the area of social innovation. In order to clarify this relationship, our study seeks to answer: What strategies would help to bring social innovation ventures closer to poor communities? We developed an empirical and qualitative research in a social innovation venture and two poor beneficiary communities in Brazil. The results indicate that the proximity between those agents was based on five main items: (a) reputation of the social venture; (b) appropriate prices according to the community’s reality; (c) close relations with the community; (d) structure proximity; and (e) winning the community leadership’s trust. Thus, our study contributes to the literature by exploring the beneficiary communities and their relationship with social innovation ventures. In addition, we suggest the use of the term “social innovation venture” to designate a wide range of types of organizations willing to generate social innovation in the practical field.