Social Entrepreneurship: The Logic of Paradox

Abstract

Social entrepreneurship is a paradoxical phenomenon wherein seemingly incompatible elements such as business and social logics coexist. Previous research has been insufficient to systematically describe how social entrepreneurship organizations (SEO) try to balance these logics and why these same paradoxical elements make social entrepreneurship what it is. Using the systematic literature review method, this paper examines six major paradoxes and how they affect both the theory and practice of social entrepreneurship by furthering the nascent discussion about the role of paradoxes in SEOs. Viewed through the lens of organizational logics, this paper argues that the dynamic interplay between these paradoxes initiates and drives the innovations and changes necessary for the very existence of SEOs.

What Drives Social Enterprises to Form Sustainable Values? The Effects of Normative Identity and Social Performance

“…First, this study seeks to deepen the understanding of the relationship between the SE's normative identity and performance based on the attention-based view. Whereas the previous literature on SE has argued that tension between social and economic identity affected the SE's activity and performance, few studies have specified the normative variables of the SE's identity [2,10,15]. To examine the role of the SE's normative identity, we introduce three concepts: attention to creating social values, maintaining a strategic posture focusing on solving social problems, and establishing social normative networks.…”

“…For example, the pursuit of social welfare and economic goals is seen as the core element of an organization. Therefore, social enterprises ideally consider social and economic values to coexist within an organization and generate synergy [2,[31][32][33][34][35]. When an organization pursues two different values at the same time, however, many difficulties are encountered.…”

“…The phenomenon in which social enterprises are in the spotlight means that the times have expected business enterprises to act as a social actor that holds their social responsibilities beyond the purpose of profit maximization. The emergence of the social enterprise is based on the attempts to complement the mechanism of capitalism and introduce the innovation of social structure [1,2]. Adverse effects of the market economy triggered social ills, such as the monopolistic structure of the market, widening the gap between the rich and the poor, and disregard for the value of labor and the environment.…”

“…Although profit-making is not the organization's primary purpose, generating financial revenue as a resource is also needed to serve a social goal [8]. The unique and ambivalent characteristics of this organization mean social enterprises have internal tension between competing demands and goals [2,[9][10][11].…”

Sustainable Entrepreneurship: Good Deeds, Business, Social and Environmental Responsibility in a Market Experiment

“…By pursuing this balance, sustainable entrepreneurs face higher complexity and ambiguity with respect to those entrepreneurs aiming at creating economic value only [13]. Further, quoting Weller and Ran [14], "social entrepreneurship is a paradoxical phenomenon wherein seemingly incompatible elements such as business and social logics coexist". Sustainable entrepreneurs therefore need combining social/environmental value and profitability in some way.…”