Social Entrepreneurship: A Systematic Scoping Review and Prospects for a Postmodern Turn

Abstract

In this systematic scoping review, first, we critically evaluate how scholars define and apply social entrepreneurship as an organizational concept. Drawing on arguments from the philosophy of science, we posit that academic definitions of social entrepreneurship are often problematic and theoretically deficient, for instance, when they are tautological. In response, we propose a principled approach based on a “theory of definition” (Suppes, 1957) for articulating alternative definitions of social entrepreneurship. Second, we appraise the theoretical devices that scholars use to interpret social entrepreneurship. We find that scholars repeatedly remain silent regarding their choice criteria, underlying assumptions, and added value of theoretical lenses. Finally, third, we outline future research avenues by advocating a postmodern perspective that facilitates multidisciplinary social entrepreneurship studies. We argue that this perspective can potentially extend research on social entrepreneurship by promoting different ontological and epistemological positions and thereby better acknowledge the multifaceted array of organizational and management theories. This is important, as it allows for shifting scholarly attention away from attempting to capture the core meaning of social entrepreneurship in a single but theoretically narrow definition. We argue that our approach provides a more inclusive entry point for the study of social entrepreneurship that better captures its richness and plurality in scope, meaning, and purpose.