Sustainability and Triple Bottom Line Planning in Social Enterprises: Developing the Guidelines for Social Entrepreneurs

Abstract

The article aims to discuss why and how the triple bottom line (TBL) approach can be adapted to manage the sustainability performance in social enterprises and thus assist the social entrepreneurs, who hold the central position in the process of social enterprise development. A system model based on design models such as the "Design of Results" and the "Cogniscope" was produced through the synthesis of multiple conceptual approaches following a systematic review protocol guided by the PRISMA Statement (‘‘Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses’’). While extending the CogniScope' systems theory and practice in the context of S-ENT accountability, the article proposes the four phases (discovery, diagnosis and design, implementation, and measurement) for planning and organizing TBL efforts within social enterprises. The outcomes of the study will aid the S-ENT practitioners in the design and implementation of TBL framework in managing the sustainability performance of social entrepreneurship ventures. The applicability of the TBL approach can be explored and developed by subsequent work in different social entrepreneurship contexts.