The conference’s thematic line addressed:
Social innovation and social entrepreneurship
1. Research Objectives:
This research concentrates on managerial capabilities development of a specific type of social enterprises from charity retailing in China. This type of social enterprises can be regarded as charity shops. It explains the effect of charity shops managers’ leadership on managerial capabilities development through the process of learning from experience by typical cases in China.
2. Interesting / important problem and clear motivation
2.1 Scope and background
In western countries, charity shops can be regarded as a typical type of social enterprise. The managers of charity shops should address both social welfare and business value in time (Horne, S., 1998). Since the concept of social enterprise and social entrepreneurship emerge in China from a decade, Chinese charity shops expected to compete and continuous survive in the market like business shops. Charity shops leaders or managers should obtain both business and social welfare experience. However, most Chinese Charity shops managers are still struggling in operating dilemma and short of experience and resources. Only some of them can integrate all the resources and sustainability operate.
2.2 Research Question
According to scope and background, our investigation’s main research question is: How does charity shops' leadership impact managerial capability development through learning?
3. Analytical grounding
Several studies have used learning variables as outcomes to common measures of leadership (Imran M., Ilyas M, Aslam U. & Rahman U., 2015; Atwood M., Mora J. & Kaplan A., 2010), such as examined leadership roles in learning (Trautmann K., Maher J. K. & Motley D. G., 2007). Learning is important for organizations because it facilitates employee adaptation to an unstable environment (Patterson,Warr, & West, 2004; Alsalami E., Behery M. & Abdullah S.,, 2014), thereby developing better capabilities. Managerial capabilities are resources-based-view, are capabilities with which managers build, integrate and reconfigure organizational resources and competences (Adner R., & Helfat C. E, 2003).The existing literature on learning processes and dynamic managerial capabilities also presents accumulating evidence of their interrelationship (Jiao H., Wei J. & Cui Y, 2010; Tsai Y. & Jhang J., 2010). Leader affects employees improve managerial capabilities. Learning seems play mediating role between leadership and managerial capabilities.
4. Methodological adequacy This research is an exploratory and qualitative study, and attempts to demonstrate why managers’ leadership influences managerial capabilities through learning process. Therefore, multiple cases method is appropriate for this study (Yin, 1994). Since 4-10 cases is reasonable for multiple cases study （Eisenhardt, 1989）, this investigation selects four typical cases from Chinese charity retailing sector. And it classified them into two types by different registration forms. Then it does semi-structural interviews for collecting data.
5. Added value to the international research community
According to the investigation, there is a lack of literature and study that clarifies Chinese charity shops managerial capabilities development, especially from the perspective of learning. This article develops a conceptual model and aims to explore the pathway of how do managers of charity shops develop their managerial capabilities through learning and eventually enhance their leadership, especially in China context.
The argument is to what extent leadership of charity shops impact managerial capabilities through learning from experience. The main conclusions include three points: firstly, standards of managerial capabilities related to charity shops leadership; secondly, through learning from experience and resource accumulation, managers can improve their leadership. Lastly, through learning process, advancing leadership can impact managerial capabilities of charity shops which give advantages to sustainability operate them.
Main References
[1] Adner R., & Helfat C. E. Corporate effects and dynamic managerial capabilities. Strategic Management Journal, 2003, .24(10): 1011-1025.
[2] Horne, S.. Charity shops in the UK. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 1998, 26(4): 155-161.
[3] Liu, G., & Ko, W. W. Charity Retailing in the United Kingdom: A Managerial Capabilities Perspective. Journal of Small Business Management, 2014, 52(3): 390-406.
[4] Yin R.，1994，Case Study Research：Design and Methods （2nd Edition），Thousand Oaks：Sage Publications．
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2. Social innovation and social entrepreneurship
