Citizen Social Entrepreneurship And Gen Y: A Hybrid Business Model: A Case Study Of "Makesense.Org"

There are relatively new and rapidly evolving trends in the area of sustainability, namely, Social Business and Social Entrepreneurship. These two entities are increasingly being influenced by a generational cohort referred to as millennials or Gen Y. This case study presents distinguishing features of the "out-of-the-box", open-source and collaborative strategies that are being devised by this 21st century 'Citizen sector'. A case study analysis was carried out on the social entrepreneur platform MakeSense based in Paris, France. The aims of this research are to: (1) expand the understanding of the disruptive innovative business models being introduced in the area of social entrepreneurship, (2) critically analyse innovative features that differentiate the Gen Y social entrepreneurial initiatives from those of previous generations, and (3) identify the key factors that contribute to the growing legitimacy of open-source social entrepreneurial orchestrators in the eyes of corporations, academic institutions and most importantly, citizens.