Prof. Dr. Kanji Tanimoto
(Waseda University, Tokyo)

"Social Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation"

November 3, 2014

This lecture explores the process of how social innovation is created and diffused. Recently there has been significant research about social entrepreneurs and social innovation. Much research focuses on entrepreneurs' activities. However, most social innovation is not created by a single entrepreneur (producer), but in collaboration with related stakeholders including customers, civil society organisations, local businesses and researchers.

This lecture seeks to clarify this process through a case study of 'Space-Huu', an environmental NGO in Japan. They have introduced the first rental reusable-cup/dishes business in Japan. This is called a "derivative innovation" which introduces an innovation produced in the area into another area. The social entrepreneur co-creates a unique system with a variety of stakeholders and obtains various resources from them in tackling social issues. Tanimoto will present a new perspective for the analysis of social innovation from the viewpoint of multiple-stakeholders.

Tanimoto Kanji is Visiting Professor at the Institute of Japanese Studies at Freie Universität Berlin until November 2014. Tanimoto is Professor for Corporate, Business and Society at Waseda University in Tokyo since 2012. From 1997 to 2012, he was professor at the Graduate School of Commerce and Management,Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo and Visiting Professor at Freie Universität Berlin in 2010. He was Special Advisor (2009--2010) and Representative Director of Social Innovation Japan (NPO) from 2005-2010. Since 2011, he also is President of Japan Forum of Business and Society (JFBS): http://j-fbs.jp/ Der Vortrag wurde gemeinsam von der Japanologie und der Graduate School of East Asian Studies angeboten.