Network centrality and performance of social enterprises: Government certified social enterprises in Seoul, South Korea

Abstract

Social enterprises, which have been dramatically increasing all over the world for several decades, are facing the challenge of how best to develop strategies to improve performance and achieve sustainable growth. In South Korea, the government has supported active networking among social enterprises as a tactic for overcoming insufficient material and human resources. However, it is unclear whether active networking activities among social enterprises are associated with higher performance. In this study, a network survey of certified social enterprises (n = 78) in Seoul, South Korea was conducted. Multivariate regression models examined whether degree centrality, closeness centrality, and betweenness centrality were associated with the economic and social performance of social enterprises after controlling for organizational factors. The results revealed that a social enterprise with higher degree centrality in the network of regular meetings achieved higher social and economic performance.