The assistant professor of entrepreneurship co-authored a case examining a nonprofit leader’s journey to increase his organization’s earned-revenue streams through effectuation.
Elena Kennedy, assistant professor of entrepreneurship in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, co-authored a case highlighting how adopting the method and mindset of an entrepreneur can help a nonprofit leader transform an organization into a social enterprise.
The case, “Start with What You Have: A Leader’s Path to Innovation,” also illustrates the value of a concept called effectuation – an entrepreneurial method and mindset, in the practice of social entrepreneurship, where leaders seek to create sustainable businesses that improve a social or environmental problem.
Kennedy co-authored the case with Denise Linda Parris, University of Oklahoma; Kostas Alexiou, University of Tampa; and Margaret S. Linnane, Edyth Bush Institute.
Kennedy joined Elon in 2015. Her research focuses on the strategic decision making of social entrepreneurs. She earned her doctorate in organizations and social change from the University of Massachusetts-Boston.