Abstract
Various studies have proposed social enterprise as a potential policy intervention and a policy alternative to deal with the complex problem of wellbeing enhancement. However, the relationship between social enterprise and wellbeing has not been fully expounded, particularly its impact on the local community. This study aims to empirically examine the relationship between social enterprise and the wellbeing of individuals in the local community, utilizing a multilevel framework. It further explores whether social capital, measured as trust, network, and participation, plays a moderating role in the relationship between local social enterprise and the wellbeing of individuals in the community. The results indicate that social enterprise has a positive effect on the wellbeing of individuals in the community, and that social capital, particularly network and participation rather than trust, plays a moderating role in the relationship between local social enterprise and individual wellbeing. The results help explain how social enterprise improves the wellbeing of community residents as a whole, suggesting practical implications for policymakers and practitioners from governments and social enterprises.
Highlights
Social enterprises have come to be regarded as a solution to unstructured crosscutting and complex problems that neither the government nor the market alone can solve (Choi et al, 2019; Weber & Khademian, 2008)
Our results demon‐ strate that social capital measured as trust, network, and participation as a whole moderates the associations of social enterprise in such a way that stronger associations between social enterprise and wellbeing were found for higher levels of social capital
This study examined the effect of local social enterprises on the wellbeing of people in the local community of South Korea, where the government emphasized the role of social enterprises in enhancing the wellbeing of community residents as a whole, and where Social Enterprise Promotion Act (SEPA) stipulates that social enterprises should pursue the goal of enhancing the wellbeing of community residents
Summary
Social enterprises have come to be regarded as a solution to unstructured crosscutting and complex problems that neither the government nor the market alone can solve (Choi et al, 2019; Weber & Khademian, 2008). Social enterprises seek to pre‐ sent innovative and sustainable solutions, such as mechanisms of support and collaboration among diverse actors (Trivedi & Stokols, 2011). In this context, social enterprises have recently been presented as a solution to the various social problems in the society and have been actively introduced and promoted by governments as a policy alternative (Engelke et al, 2015; Kim & Moon, 2017). As government activity directly impacts wellbeing, gov‐ ernments should utilize wellbeing as an aim or goal of public policy issues (Coggburn & Schneider, 2003; Gastil, 1970; Glaser et al, 2000)
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