Social Enterprise Ecosystem Research Articles

Managing Ethical Challenges in Social Enterprises

This paper aims to conduct an in-depth analysis of ethical issues faced by social enterprises operating in Kenya by examining the nature and complexity of these challenges. Furthermore, the research aims to explore strategies put in place by these social enterprises to promote ethical practices in their operations and discourage unethicality. This research used a qualitative approach to examine ethical issues in Kenya’s social enterprises. Semi-structured interviews with nine social enterprise leaders in Kenya were conducted. The paper provides empirical findings on the ethical issues that social enterprises in Kenya face and the strategies they have instituted to manage these ethical issues. Findings show that the ethical issues encountered are donor dependence, stakeholder interference, people management, cultural inclusivity and sensitivity, bribery, conflict of interest, transparency and accountability, and legal processes. Measures for handling ethical issues in social enterprises include attaining financial independence and sustainability, compliance with the law, promoting community relationships and engagement, and promoting transparency and accountability. The methods used to collect data may present issues like generalizability due to the sample size for the social enterprise leaders. The paper contributes to building a more ethical and sustainable social enterprise ecosystem in Kenya by identifying and addressing ethical concerns. Furthermore, identifying ethical issues can guide regulators and policymakers in creating guiding frameworks and powerful brand images, developing “brand ambassadors,” and managing the balance between stability and change.

Understanding key factors in social enterprise development in Indonesia: case study approach for an optimal social enterprise business model

Purpose This paper aims to analyse the advancement of social enterprises in Indonesia by providing comprehensive insights into crucial aspects of social enterprises such as stakeholder interests, business models, challenges and future objectives. Design/methodology/approach Using a case study approach, the study investigates four social enterprises using a narrative methodology to gain a detailed understanding of their operations. By adopting a systems perspective, the research uncovers the dynamics among stakeholders, challenges and the evolution of business models, offering a nuanced view of the social enterprise ecosystem. Findings The findings demonstrate that social enterprises in Indonesia emerge with a noble mission to address unmet community needs. Notably, effective collaboration among diverse stakeholders, including both the private and public sectors, plays a crucial role in achieving the missions of these social enterprises. The study highlights the significance of social enterprises in bridging gaps left by the government and contributing to positive societal impact. Originality/value By deepening the understanding of social enterprise development in Indonesia, this research provides valuable insights for policymakers, practitioners and researchers in fostering their growth and effectiveness. Ultimately, it contributes to the broader knowledge on social entrepreneurship and sustainable development.

Policy drivers and tools influencing the development of social enterprises in Taiwan

PurposeTaiwan promotes social enterprises with the Social Enterprise Action Plan and Social Innovation Action Plan, focusing on solving social problems and achieving sustainable development goals. This study aims to clarify the impetus for the above policies and determines whether the relevant policy tools can achieve the established policy goals.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts the in-depth interview method and uses the “social impact investment framework” constructed by OEDC and Dunn’s definition of public policy stakeholders to select 22 respondents, who were divided into three groups.FindingsTaiwan’s decision-making in social enterprise policy is mainly driven by the pressure of youth unemployment and the 318-student movement. Intrinsic motivation strategies popularized the concept of social enterprise. Various strategies are used to break the limitations and diversify the organization, trigger more diverse social investments, broaden the goals of investment and complete the social enterprise ecosystem through these. Taiwan’s social enterprise policies are consistent with the global trend of “replacing subsidies with investment.”Originality/valueThis study shows that social enterprises generate mutual benefits between investors and social enterprises, that is, achieve free matching through external mechanisms. This study fills the gaps in Oliver’s “behavioral cube” framework of policy instruments. A “behavioral four-dimensional matrix” composed of nudge, shove, budge and reciprocity is proposed to complete the framework for social enterprise policy analysis tools.

When social enterprise ecosystem shapes national public policy: examining Brazil’s national impact economy strategy

PurposeSocial enterprises are embedded in ecosystems with multiple actors interested in the field’s growth. One way to enhance social enterprises is through public policies and developing countries like Brazil included this in the public agenda. After an important mobilization of private organizations and public managers, the Brazilian federal government implemented in 2017 the National Impact Investment and Business Strategy (ENIMPACTO) renamed in 2023 to National Impact Economy Strategy with the same abbreviation. Since its creation, ENIMPACTO saw significant modifications leading to a decree in 2023 extending its mandate, amplifying membership and changing its name to the National Impact Economy Strategy while maintaining the same acronym. This experience leads us to the following question: How was ENIMPACTO created and developed?Design/methodology/approachWe used institutional arrangements and advocacy coalition theory to analyze the key elements that contributed to ENIMPACTO’s creation and its evolution through time. A qualitative, single-case study on the Brazilian experience implementing ENIMPACTO was conducted through semi-structured interviews with national strategy members, participant observation, document and data analysis.FindingsWe argue that advocacy coalition and institutional arrangements frameworks combined are needed to understand Enimpacto’s complexity. The strategy presented an extensive multiple-actor articulation involving shared beliefs that were also important to gather support on recreating and expanding Enimpacto when external events threatened its continuity. Yet, it presented important challenges on how to achieve consensus and alignment regarding important concepts and regulation strategy among the actors and manage the public policy governance and activities implementation.Originality/valueWe combine institutional arrangements and advocacy coalition frameworks and apply them to analyze a public policy composed of actors of multiple sectors that play an active advocacy coalition role. We also present empirical evidence that elements of the advocacy coalition framework add analytical elements to institutional arrangements literature and how they affect each other. We point to two important elements of the institutional arrangements framework (territoriality and subsidiarity) that were not initially considered by ENIMPACTO and were later incorporated because of tensions in the field. We provide empirical evidence of the incipient role that public administration can play in promoting social enterprises' agenda that might base similar strategies to boost social enterprises in other locations.

Social enterprise growth by design: using design to incubate and accelerate social enterprises

PurposeThe paper aims to explore the roles and impact of design in incubating and accelerating social enterprises. It aims to understand design’s influence on social enterprise ecosystems and in improving outcomes for social enterprises.Design/methodology/approachThe study used an exploratory, qualitative approach, using case studies and interviews. The comparative case-study methodology was applied to evaluate the influence of design on the development of social enterprises in the UK and South Korea and identify critical issues in their utilisation of design. Empirical data included: in-depth case studies of design utilisation practices (UK = 6; South Korea = 15) and design applications (UK = 2; South Korea = 2) for the growth of social enterprise and its ecosystem; 27 social enterprise/design experts (UK = 17; South Korea = 10); and 22 social enterprises (UK = 12; South Korea = 10). Content and thematic analysis were used to synthesise the findings.FindingsFindings demonstrate the differing influences of design on social enterprise, from improving products/services and business models to enhancing social enterprise ecosystem support and networks. Future directions are suggested for applying design for social enterprise growth, business stage development and systematising interactions between the social enterprise and design sectors.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is based on case studies from only two countries. Further, the adoption of working definitions of social enterprise in the countries may result in the research underestimating the heterogeneity of social enterprise.Practical implicationsThe findings contribute to optimising efficient ecosystem development to improve social enterprise competitiveness and innovation.Originality/valueThis paper establishes a research foundation on design for social enterprise, offering theoretical and practical insights into its impact on growth.

Does the Social Enterprise Ecosystem Facilitate the Growth of Social Enterprises? An Extended Case Study of Taiwan, China

Social enterprise (SE) ecosystems are a central concept in understanding the growth of SEs, yet existing research still needs to discuss the attributes of the ecosystems and their actual impacts on SEs. Based on an extended case study, this paper explores the actual impact of ecosystems on SEs in Taiwan, China. It is found that the SE ecosystem is not a dichotomous variable of “yes-no”, but of being “strong” or “weak”. Taiwan’s SE ecosystem has supportive conditions for SEs, such as favorable public policies, research institutes, and certification of SEs. However, due to deviations in implementing public policies and the lack of cross-sectoral cooperation between the government and other actors, Taiwan’s SE ecosystem is functionally “weak”. That is, the ecosystem needs to play a sufficient role in constructing the identity of SEs, providing legitimacy support, and linking resources. Under these circumstances, while maintaining the stability of their mission and core competencies, SEs appeal to themselves to gain internal and external legitimacy to achieve organizational growth. This finding reveals the complex relationship between SE ecosystems and the growth of SEs, and has implications for the construction of supportive SE ecosystems.

‘We need the activists to be more entrepreneurial’: Global versus local modes of thought on the development of social enterprise support systems in transitioning economies

AbstractAs the processes of market liberalization and globalization increase the confidence of international actors involved in national third sectors, there exists a cosmopolitan tension between ‘mobile elites’ and ‘locked in’ nationals. This paper explores the impact of these tensions on the social enterprise ecosystem in the Republic of Poland and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Focused on the internationalized mechanisms of support, the relationship between the social enterprise incubators and international stakeholders, and power distance inherent to the global versus local debate, the findings suggest that normative isomorphic pressures are causing a fundamental ecosystem shift. The monopolization of support and terms of reference have led to entrepreneurs detrimentally being treated as ‘organizational heroes’ risking burnout, the primacy of international voices within the local context, and the transference of nationals from being ‘locked in’ to national processes to being ‘locked out’ of national support. The research suggests the cosmopolitan‐led transformation of activists into entrepreneurs needs to be more carefully considered, to ensure that enforced alignment to international system does not alienate them from other sources and means of sustainability.

Collective Identity in Social Enterprise Ecosystems: A Cross-Country Comparison

In response to the call for research on the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems for social entrepreneurship, we engaged the organisational field literature, particularly the issue field perspective, in understanding the institutional dynamics in the evolution of social enterprise ecosystems. We examine genetic and epigenetic factors—stakeholder networks and policy directives—in shaping social enterprise identity claims made by diverse groups of organisations in emerging social enterprise ecosystems. We conducted a cross-country comparative analysis of 549 organisations’ social enterprise identity claims and organisational practices in the Philippines and Sri Lanka. The results show that SoEE evolution is not typified by the emergence of a dominant phenotype—social enterprise model—but could also be a field of diverse organisations that claim a social enterprise identity.

Rural Sustainable Prosperity: Social Enterprise Ecosystems as a Framework for Sustainable Rural Development

The fourth wave of economic development has ushered in social enterprises (SEs) that have the potential to contribute to sustainable development goals (SDGs) in rural regions that have not prospered under the economic development strategies of the past. This study examines three SEs that have emerged at different times in Appalachian Ohio, a region recognized as a rural area recovering from the environmental and health consequences of extractive industries and poverty over the last century. The social entrepreneurial ecosystem (SEE) in this region has begun to thrive recently, rendering now a crucial time to evaluate the conditions that have led to success. Using qualitative methods, three cases were coded to identify whether present-day SEs in rural Appalachia (1) realize values for natural resource stewardship and community wellness in addition to economic profits (a triple bottom line), (2) attract external funds that are retained in the local economy, and (3) align with SDGs. Evidence of these qualities in SEs manifested in different ways across the three cases. Stage two coding revealed findings that (1) the university acted as a catalyzing agent and (2) collective action by generational families was foundational for the social capital that kick-started each case. As the natural capital recovers in the region, opportunities for the SEE to nurture new enterprises aligned with the triple bottom line will increase SDGs. The SEE of Appalachian Ohio offers a model for sustainable development in dispersed rural locations.

Placing Irish Social Enterprise Ecosystem within the wider European Landscape

Abstract The launch in 2019 of Ireland’s first National Social Enterprise Policy has meant a significant milestone for the institutitonalisation of social enterprise within the country. However, this milestone needs to be placed within a wider framework which encompasses the Irish social enterprise ecosystem and the European landscape of social enterprises. This paper explores different elements of the Irish social enterprise ecosystem, including its policy context, definition adopted and legal forms. Moreover, it explores the private recognition through certification and marks, the development of support and advocacy networks and organisations, academia and research, and funding/financing mechanisms. These elements are contrasted with the situation in other European countries to provide a contextualized picture of the Irish social enterprise sector. The paper concludes that Ireland’s social enterprise ecosystem presents some specificities, such as the CLG as a dominant legal form and the predominance of the WISE model, but generally aligns with wider social enterprises trends at European level.

A Comparative Analysis of Social Enterprise in South Korea and Indonesia

Social enterprise (or, institutionally, social business) is a business practice that focuses on social activities in which both market and government fail to deliver social benefit, welfare, justice, and sustainability. Some countries such as South Korea, the United Kingdom, the USA, and others have progressively developed a suitable ecosystem for social enterprise. Indonesia, with its growing social enterprises in society, also needs a suitable and favorable ecosystem to ascertain the progress and sustainability of such enterprises. This study is intended to design a business ecosystem ideal for Indonesia’s social enterprises. It was conducted by comparative analysis of the social enterprise ecosystem in Indonesia and South Korea South Korea is considered a country with the most progressive social enterprises in Asia through a systematic literature review. The comparative analysis result is further analyzed using the BEEP (Babson Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Project) Model. This study shows that there are several significant differences and gaps between Indonesia and South Korea’s business ecosystem for fostering the progress of social enterprises notably in the areas of government policy, finance, and human capital in which Indonesia needs to reflect on developing and fostering her social enterprise ecosystem. The interplay of factors and players of the social business ecosystem in Indonesia will thrive if the government can properly nurture existing social culture, promote proper policies, roll out appropriate and accessible levels of the playing field, and develop a consistent and impartial legal framework. Keywords: social enterprise ecosystem, social business, entrepreneurship ecosystem, systematic literature review

Toward sustainability: the role of social entrepreneurship in creating social-economic value in renewable energy social enterprises

This study explores the scope of social entrepreneurship and examines how social entrepreneurship contributes to sustainable development. Using analysis and relevant comparisons, it identifies main actors in the socialenterprise ecosystem, as well as how the entrepreneurial ecosystem adapts to social enterprises. Additionally, this study reveals how social enterprise applies in the renewable energy domain and identifies its main advantages, as well as major barriers and how to overcome those barriers. Fundamentally, this study’s findings have significant implications, for academics and practitioners in the social field. It highlights the role of social entrepreneurship as a balanced approach for long-run increases in quality of life, and it follows innovative techniques and methods to meet social needs, inherently motivated by ethical factors in equality and social fairness. On the other hand, main challenges that could confront social entrepreneurship include government regulations, problems adopting advanced technology and infrastructure, external competitive threats, limited access to public funds or loans, lack of awareness and acquisition of skills and knowledge, and inadequate knowledge about social impact measurement techniques. This research also illustrates how to adapt Isenberg's model for the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the social enterprises, which shows that the evolution of social enterprises does not occur in a vacuum; rather, the growth of social enterprise ecosystems occurs through interactions and networks with various actors in different fields such as financial politics, law, and academia. Finally, we review the practical applications of social enterprises by highlighting the main benefits of RE social enterprises: energy savings, community awareness, and the creation of favorable social externalities in rural and developing areas.

Društvena poduzeća i njihovi ekosustavi

Social enterprises in many countries face a lack of legal recognition and insufficient institutional and financial support. Ecosystems that support their emergence and development are thus weak. Social enterprises respond to important societal challenges that are relevant to multiple stakeholders at different territorial levels (local, national and international). This multi-territorial nature of stakeholder networks in which social enterprises are embedded is also related to the ecosystem gaps, which prompt social enterprises to overcome weaknesses at one territorial level by utilising opportunities at other levels, and thereby seek overall viability and impact on society. The paper outlines a conceptual framework for the process of managing stakeholder networks within social enterprise ecosystems. That entails identification of key stakeholders (defined by their level of salience, based on Mitchell, Age and Wood, 1997) and the material and symbolic resources a social enterprise obtains from them and/or provides to them. The framework is applied to a case study of the Green Energy Cooperative (GEC) from Croatia. GEC was founded to facilitate local communities and citizens in the planning, development, management and financing of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency projects. However, given the underdevelopment of the relevant ecosystem in Croatia, fulfilling this ‘localised’ mission also simultaneously required strategic engagement of GEC with policymakers at the national level, as well as with EU and other international funding sources and advocacy organisations. Each of these territorial dimensions (related to local projects, national policies and international funding and advocacy) involves relationships with multiple stakeholders which need to be developed and maintained over time, if viability and impact are to be achieved.

Shaping the entrepreneurial mindset - the cases of Social Entrepreneurship HUBs within higher education in Thailand and Myanmar

Background: The full potential of social entrepreneurship remains challenging to achieve, despite continuous efforts in various economies, including South-East Asia. Several obstacles need to be addressed, such as the scarcity of skilled employees, limited business understanding among founders, difficulties accessing funding and infrastructure, and the absence of proper social impact measurement. Higher education institutions (HEIs) often face constraints in engaging and supporting early entrepreneurial activities, exacerbating the imbalance in the social entrepreneurship landscape. This imbalance has been observed in both Thailand and Myanmar.
 Research objectives: The Erasmus+ funded project, STEPup, running from 2020 to 2023, recognized an opportunity to foster innovative social entrepreneurship practices tailored for disruptive business settings in these two countries. By applying the challenge-based learning approach through interactive case challenge proceedings involving social entrepreneurs, faculty mentors and students, the development of the entrepreneurial mindset of the latter group was studied.
 Research design and methods: To accomplish this, a multi-method research design was chosen, which involved a case-challenge experience within the framework of 6 universities, a questionnaire-based survey conducted among the student population which took part in the case-challenge experience and desk research.
 Results: The study revealed the necessity for a self-organizing and organic support system for social entrepreneurship. The objective of this paper is to present recommendations and strategic guidelines to enhance access and opportunities for existing social enterprises and social entrepreneurs seeking to establish and sustain a social enterprise ecosystem. The proposed framework leverages the support, expertise, and structure of existing higher education institutions.
 Conclusions: Higher Education Institutions can serve as excellent cases demonstrating how to design and develop resource hubs for social enterprise practitioners and engage stakeholders from all sectors to address social issues and promote awareness.

Appalachian social entrepreneurship ecosystem: A framework for rural development

ABSTRACT This paper contributes to the gap in the understudied, but increasingly salient, topic of the development of social enterprise ecosystems (SEEs) in rural areas using the Appalachian Ohio SEE as a framework for understanding the development of rural SEEs. Building on prior studies of the successful rural entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) in Appalachian Ohio, this paper relates the relationship between the EE and SEE in Appalachian Ohio to the context of traditional economic and community development. The case studies reviewed here illustrate the importance of the social capital of regional champions, university as convener and place for ecosystem overlap, and multiple capitals approach to community regeneration. The commonalities identified among cases suggest that a fourth wave of economic development will depend on a healthy intersection of community and economic development that recognizes the need for maintaining real ecosystem services. The SEE framework is especially suited to catalyze this intersection.

Exploration of Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystems in Thailand and Myanmar

Background: Although the social enterprise ecosystems in Thailand and Myanmar are at different levels of development, they share common challenges that need to be addressed to ensure that the sector lives up to its potential of helping these countries fully achieve their Sustainable Development Goals.
 Research objectives: The aim of this research is to identify common issues that social entrepreneurs in Thailand and Myanmar are facing within the ecosystems they operate in, and thus recommend specific actions that institutions of higher education in Thailand and Myanmar can take to support these ecosystems develop.
 Research design and methods: This research utilised desk-based secondary research from existing country reports, and primary research in the form of online surveys and focus groups with different stakeholders such as social entrepreneurs, local government officials and educators.
 Results: We identified several common challenges that social enterprises in these two countries face which include the centralisation of key ecosystem actors, lack of funding access, poor impact measurement and misconceptions of the sector as a whole among stakeholders.
 Conclusions: As a result of the research findings, we have provided several policy recommendations to higher education institutions wishing to engage and support their local social enterprise ecosystems.

Legal Context and Support Incentives of Social Enterprises in Baltic Countries

Background: All three Baltic countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, faced similar historical contexts and challenges. Currently, Baltic countries have created a favourable environment for entrepreneurship and have an active civil society sector. However, the social enterprise sector in the Baltic states is very young and still developing. Baltic countries have great potential for developing and expanding social enterprises through various support infrastructures. The solutions implemented to support the development of social enterprises differ in all three countries.
 Research objectives: This article aims to identify social entrepreneurship support incentives in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
 Research design and methods: The paper uses literature review, document analysis, and comparative analysis results.
 Results: The study revealed that all three Baltic states are gradually taking steps towards establishing a social enterprise ecosystem. However, Estonia and Lithuania lack supportive legal frameworks and tax support systems for SEs. The development of supportive regulatory environments could help to grow the sector and solve many conceptual issues.
 Conclusions: The governments could, therefore, adopt a legal regulation and a clear definition of SEs to build a shared understanding of the field between all sectors and to implement future governmental strategies with identified coordinating structures, roles, and missions of SEs for far more successful collaboration.

Exploring the Regional Determinants of the Emergence of Social Enterprises in South Korea: An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Perspective

South Korea has experienced a rapid increase in the emergence of social enterprises that aim to address various social problems. However, little is known about the conditions that can affect the emergence of social enterprises at the regional level. This study examined the regional factors that influence the establishment of social enterprises using a panel dataset of observations on 17 metropolitan cities and provinces in South Korea from 2012 to 2019. The appearance of social enterprises in regional entrepreneurial ecosystems was found to be associated with the market, government, networks, financial resources, and human capital. We also found that the determinants of their emergence within South Korea’s social enterprise ecosystem vary based on their level of development and purpose. Based on the results, we suggested several policy implications and suggestions.

The Effect of Cash Incentive Projects on the Social Value Performances of Social Enterprises: An Empirical Analysis of SK’s Social Progress Credit in Korea

Social enterprises seek to maximize benefits to society and the environment while obtaining profits. Social enterprises are increasing in number; however, their size and growth rates are very small. In addition, many social enterprises face difficulties in obtaining profits through social activities that generate social value, even though they are supported by government policy. Previous research has focused on the relationship between social performance and financial performance, compensation, and policy making, as well as the effect of incentives on social performance within organizations. To our knowledge, there is lack of empirical research on cash incentives for activities that generate social value. This paper analyzes the behavior of companies with regard to fostering a social enterprise ecosystem and a cash incentive system for social enterprises. In particular, we investigate the relationship between SK’s cash incentive system, which is called social progress credit (SPC), and the activities of social enterprises, and we examine which social value activities are affected by a cash incentive system. Furthermore, through empirical analysis, this paper analyzes how the amount of cash for incentives is determined by specific social activities, such as social service performance, employment performance, environmental performance, and social ecosystem performance, as well as by the size of the social enterprise and its financial performance (i.e., revenue and net profit). The results show that employment performance is the most important factor for incentive payments, reflecting the social atmosphere and government policy in Korea, and that it can be a simpler measurement of performance than other social performance measures. Moreover, the results show that there is a significant positive (+) relationship between incentive payments and financial performance, such as sales and net profit of social enterprises. In addition, it was found that more incentives were paid to small social enterprises with higher sales growth.

“ANALYSING CORE THEMES AND CO-AUTHOR PATTERNS ON THE CONNECTION BETWEEN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ENTERPRISES”

This study focuses on deriving key issues relating to social enterprises and intellectual property rights using text mining methods, and analysing the co-author patterns of researchers working in these fields. For this purpose, the Netminer program was used to analyse journal papers published by Springer Publishing. As a result of the analysis, the research topics relating to social enterprises and intellectual property rights were, by way of a theoretical framework, classified according to nine issues: the management model of social enterprises; social enterprises and NGOs; the supply chain of social enterprises; the impact of social enterprises; environmental changes in social enterprises; social entrepreneurship; social enterprise and education; the social enterprise ecosystem; and social enterprises and NGOs.. These nine key issues represent areas of great importance in terms of business activities that link social enterprises and intellectual property rights. Contrastingly, examination of the co-author patterns of authors discussing social enterprises and intellectual property rights suggests that those employing multi-disciplinary approaches should engage more actively in joint research activities. Though such authors have achieved notable results to date, their engaging more actively in joint research activities should enhance the success of policies linking social enterprises and intellectual property rights.