As an exploration into the nascent topic of ‘social innovation’, this thesis builds upon recent transformations in management scholarship to argue for a reconnection of research to realworld relevance. It showcases an impactful research design based on logical steps of inquiry that closely entwine practical and theoretical realities. Social innovation, briefly defined as a novel solution that addresses a social problem and primarily accrues societal benefits, is an emerging concept. Although practitioners from different sectors have long engaged in this practice-led phenomenon, academic research has not kept pace and significant gaps in knowledge remain. Consequently, the social innovation literature is ‘pre-theoretical’, with contested co...