SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION. OSMOSIS BETWEEN SOCIAL AND MARKET BASED PRINCIPLES? Helena Almeida Professor in the University of Coimbra, Portugal Rua do Colégio Novo, 3001-802 Coimbra hna@fpce.uc.pt Clara Santos Professor in the University of Coimbra, Portugal Rua do Colégio Novo, 3001-802 Coimbra claracruzsantos@gmail.com Cristina Albuquerque Professor in the University of Coimbra, Portugal Rua do Colégio Novo, 3001-802 Coimbra crisalbuquerque@fpce.uc.pt Abstract Entrepreneurship, traditionally associated with the field of business management has, in recent decades, adopt a social approach. Encouraging the creation of innovative responses, in managing the social and the economic, social entrepreneurship puts in the forefront, not only the need to conceptualize innovation, but also the exigency to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of social entrepreneurial initiatives. The adaptation of management principles and evaluation, derived from business entrepreneurship framework, combined with logics of social value production, is the key to think innovatively effectiveness and sustainability of social entrepreneurship responses. This reflection is essential to conceive an integrated model of thinking and acting. Thus, in this paper we will try to discuss the assumptions and the specificity of social entrepreneurship initiatives in the light of adapted market based principles. In other words, our goal is to present and discuss an analytical-operational model that could articulate “ market principles” with the production and assessment of “social value”. Keywords: social entrepreneurship, innovation, efficacy, sustainability, social value, management, market, evaluation