Investigating learning in social enterprises: a boundary perspective

Abstract

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to further theory development in the field of social entrepreneurship by developing a research agenda for examining organizational learning in social enterprises.Design/methodology/approach– This paper anchors in the interpretive paradigm of learning. It draws on social entrepreneurship literature to identify unique features of social enterprises. These characteristics are then investigated from a situated learning perspective to develop research questions around the following themes: social structures enabling learning, boundaries, boundary objects, boundary roles and boundary interactions.Findings– Boundaries are identified as loci around which critical learning interactions occur in social enterprises. The significance of studying implicit and explicit boundaries, knowledge brokering, boundary objects and boundary interactions for gaining novel insights into the social enterprise learning process is highlighted.Originality/value– This paper assists the progression of academic discussion in social entrepreneurship from definitional debates to critical organizational-level phenomena. It brings to attention the importance of studying organizational learning in the unique context of social entrepreneurship for advancing organization theory. It informs practice by highlighting critical social structures, boundaries, agents and objects which need to be identified and managed for promoting learning in social enterprises.