Social sustainability within social entrepreneurship

Abstract

In the emerging field of academic research on sustainability, studies on social sustainability within social entrepreneurship are largely underexplored due to the widespread misconception of understanding the distinction between these two concepts. Sustainability in social entrepreneurship is defined as the process of developing sustainable solutions for social, economic, or environmental problems that are not being addressed with the ability to endure over time by continually improving on operational efficiencies. Social entrepreneurial sustainability should cover the three sustainability dimensions, which are social sustainability, economic sustainability, and environmental sustainability. This study aims to explore the dimension of social sustainability within social entrepreneurship specifically. The study seeks to understand how social entrepreneurs achieve social sustainability. This study employs an exploratory qualitative approach based on case studies of social enterprises operating in the United States. The findings reveal various themes such as value creation, establishing smart partnerships and social innovation that social entrepreneurs undertake to be socially sustainable. This study looks to provide significant empirical findings that will be invaluable to promote further research in this nascent field of social sustainability within social entrepreneurship that will benefit academicians and practitioners worldwide.