Module: Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Module Code	ECO1021 (ITS: LC2000)
Faculty	Humanities & Social Sciences	School	SALIS
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5

Description

Overall, this module aims to develop students' ability to effect social change in a positive way through learning, adopting and applying social marketing principles and strategies. It explores the historical development of social marketing, introduces specific theories relevant to the field and provides frameworks and models according to which students can design and implement strategies aimed at effecting social change. The module facilitates an understanding of the impact of culture on the development of such strategies and introduces students to national and international case studies, ethical issues and the evaluation of social marketing programmes. The module stimulates thinking regarding the possible application of social marketing principles within their local community. It also examines the concept of social entrepreneurship, looks at how to develop a social enterprise, and considers topics such as sustainability and scalability.

Learning Outcomes

1. relate the relevance of social marketing to contemporary society and recognise the unique characteristics of social marketing.
2. review, analyse and critically evaluate social marketing programmes from a theoretical and practical perspective.
3. Gather relevant information relating to a topic.
4. Draw informed and logical conclusions from information.
5. Generate novel ideas relating to a given topic or scenario.
6. Demonstrate collaborative communication in a team environment.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Lecture	24	No Description
Assignment Completion	25	Individual assignment
Group work	50	Group assignment
Independent Study	26	No Description
Total Workload: 125

Section Breakdown
CRN	20255	Part of Term	Semester 2
Coursework	100%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	N
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	Martin Toal	Module Teacher

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Assignment	Students are required to submit an individual case study relating to social marketing.	20%	Week 25
Group assignment	Students will work in groups to develop a social marketing project in preparation for writing a report. Students write a group description of the elements of the report	20%	Sem 2 End
Assignment	Students write a report on the development of a new product or service (social enterprise) which helps tackle a social problem based on their group proposal.	60%	n/a

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

introduction to social marketing
definition of key concepts and introduction to the 'marketing mix' followed by consideration of the unique characteristics of social marketing within the broader discipline of marketing.

social marketing challenges
common challenges including the concept of price

social issues
perceiving social issues from a social marketing perspective and understanding consumers' needs and wants

theoretical considerations
theories germane to to the discipline of social marketing

social marketing planning process
situational analysis, market research, product development, segmentation approaches, distribution and promotion decisions

social marketing across cultures
standardisation and customisation

evaluation
approaches to evaluating social marketing programmes

Indicative Reading List

Books:

Andreason, A: 2006, Social marketing in the 21st century, Sage, London,
Andreason, A and Kotler, P: 2008, Strategic marketing for non-profit organisations, Prentice Hall,
Goldberg, ME, Fishbein, M, Middlestat, SE (eds): 1997, Social marketing: theoretical and practical perspectives, Lawrence Erlbaum associates Inc, washington D.C.,
Hastings, G: 2007, Social marketing: why should the devil have all the best tunes?, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford,
Kotler, P and Lee NR: 2009, Up and out of poverty: the social marketing solution, Wharton School Publishing, Pennsylvania,
Kotler, P and Lee, N: 2008, Social marketing: influencing behaviours for good, Sage, London,
Kotler, P, Roberto, W, Lee, N: 2002, Social marketing - improving the quality of life, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA,
McKenzie-Mohr, D and Smith, W: 2000, Fostering sustainable behaviour: an introduction to community-based social marketing, New Society Publishers, British Columbia,
Mooij, MK: 2004, Consumer behaviour and culture: consequences for global marketing and advertising, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA,
Sargeant, A and Wymer, W (eds): 2008, The Routledge companion to nonprofit marketing, Routledge, Oxon,
Usunier, J-C and Lee, JA: 2005, Marketing across cultures, Financial Times/Prentice Hall, Harlow,
Weinrich, HK: 1999, Hands-on social marketing: a step-by-step guide, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA,

Articles:

Andreason, A: 1994, Social marketing: its definition and domain, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 13 (1), 108-114, 525556
2007: 'We're still the same people': developing a mass media campaign to raise awareness and challenge the stigma of dementia, International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 12 (1), 47-58, 525557, 2
The marketing of social causes: the first 10 years: Journal of Marketing, 44 (Fall), 24-33, 525558, 2, Hastings, G and Saren, M
Marketing Theory: 3 (3), 305-322, 525559, 2, Jones, SC and Rossiter, JR, 2002
8 (1): 6-18, 525560, 2, Kotler, P and Zaltman, G, 1971, Social marketing: an approach to planned social change
3-12: 525561, 2, Lee, N, Aschermann, K, Ehrmann, R and Mintz, J, 2005, The challenges and rewards of partnering with the private sector to achieve social marketing objectives, Social Marketing Quarterly
525562: 2, Lowry, RJ, Hardy, S, Jordan, C and Wayman, G, 2004, Using social marketing to increase recruitment of pregnant smokers to smoking cessation service: a success story, Public Health, 118 (4), 239-243,
2: MacAskill, S, Lindridge, A, sSead, M, Eadie, D, Hayton, P and Braham, M, 2008, Social marketing with challenging target groups: smoking cessation in prisons in England and Wales, International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 13 (3), 251-261,
Novelli, WD: 2007, Creating social change: the synergy of combining marketing and policy - the ROI of health promotion and disease prevention, Social Marketing Quarterly, 12 (3), 64-73, 525565
1999: Carrots, sticks and promises: a conceptual framework for the management of public health and social behaviours, Journal of Marketing, 63 (Oct), 24-37, 525566, 2
A systematic review of social marketing effectiveness: Health Education, 107 (2), 126-140,

Other Resources

1: website, Jones, SC, Iverson, DC, Penman, A and Tang, A, 2005, A practical application of theory: using social marketing theory to develop innovative and comprehensive sun protection campaigns,