Constructing 'problems' and 'solutions': social innovation as social-symbolic work

We argue that social innovation, at its core, is a process of meaning construction that shapes understanding of what constitutes social ‘problems’ and what counts as appropriate ‘solutions’. To develop our argument, we combine the social-symbolic work perspective from organization theory with insights from Rothman’s community sociology to propose a simple framework of social-symbolic organizing for social innovation. The framework comprises three forms of work – social inclusion work (participatory organizing within marginalized groups), socio-political work (organizing marginalized groups to engage formal political structures), and social activism work (organizing marginalized groups through protest) – each of which is underpinned by a discrete set of social-symbolic practices. In doing so, we theorize a novel way of thinking about how social innovators construct meaning to make change and challenge the dominant conception of social innovation that prioritizes market-based activity.