How Social Entrepreneurship and Social Inno-vation Translate Social Purpose into Inclusive Economic Development across Organizations, Communities and Institutional Ecosystems
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This paper examines the relationships among social entrepreneurship, social innovation and inclusive economic development through a structured synthesis of research addressing social mission, hybrid organizations, entrepreneurial capabilities, institutional ecosystems, grassroots innovation, employment, empowerment, financial inclusion and sustainable development. The literature shows that social entrepreneurship can contribute to inclusion when economic viability is combined with an explicit social mission supported by appropriate governance, stakeholder engagement and institutional conditions. Social innovation extends this perspective by emphasizing collaborative processes, locally embedded knowledge, community participation and institutional transformation. The reviewed contributions also indicate that inclusion cannot be reduced to business growth, technological diffusion or income generation. It encompasses employment quality, capabilities, participation, agency, access to finance, gender empowerment, territorial opportunities and sustainable-development outcomes. Particular attention is therefore given to the conditions under which socially oriented organizations and innovations generate measurable benefits for disadvantaged populations. The paper argues that organizational intentions should be distinguished from demonstrated developmental outcomes and that the assessment of social entrepreneurship and social innovation requires multidimensional indicators. Overall, inclusive economic development appears to depend on the interaction between entrepreneurial capacity, social-purpose orientation, participation, institutional support and the equitable distribution of opportunities and benefits across individuals, communities and territories.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
References
1. Ayob, N., Teasdale, S., & Fagan, K. (2016). How social innovation “came to be”: Tracing the evolution of a contested concept. Journal of Social Policy, 45(4), 635–653. doi: 10.1017/S004727941600009X
2. Ait Hbibi, A., Makhrout, S., Choukar, E., & El Hamidi, N. (2021). Financial inclusion of the in-formal sector through FinTech: What perspective does the Diffusion of Innovation offer? In-ternational Journal of Information Technology and Applied Sciences, 3(4), 184–190. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.11479385
3. Bacq, S., & Eddleston, K. A. (2018). A resource-based view of social entrepreneurship: How stewardship culture benefits scale of social impact. Journal of Business Ethics, 152(3), 589–611. doi: 10.1007/s10551-016-3317-1
4. Bauwens, T., Huybrechts, B., & Dufays, F. (2020). Understanding the diverse scaling strate-gies of social enterprises as hybrid organizations: The case of renewable energy cooperatives. Organization & Environment, 33(2), 195–219. doi: 10.1177/1086026619837126
5. Beckman, C. M., Rosen, J., Estrada-Miller, J., & Painter, G. (2023). The social innovation trap: Critical insights into an emerging field. Academy of Management Annals, 17(2), 684–709. doi: 10.5465/annals.2021.0089
6. Bhatt, B., Qureshi, I., & Riaz, S. (2019). Social entrepreneurship in non-munificent institution-al environments and implications for institutional work: Insights from China. Journal of Busi-ness Ethics, 154(3), 605–630. doi: 10.1007/s10551-017-3451-4
7. Bhattarai, C. R., Kwong, C. C. Y., & Tasavori, M. (2019). Market orientation, market disrup-tiveness capability and social enterprise performance: An empirical study from the United Kingdom. Journal of Business Research, 96, 47–60. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.10.042
8. Borquist, B. R., & de Bruin, A. (2019). Values and women-led social entrepreneurship. Inter-national Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 11(2), 146–165. doi: 10.1108/IJGE-08-2018-0093
9. Bozhikin, I., Macke, J., & da Costa, L. F. (2019). The role of government and key non-state ac-tors in social entrepreneurship: A systematic literature review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 226, 730–747. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.076
10. Calò, F., Scognamiglio, F., Bellazzecca, E., & Ongaro, E. (2024). Social innovation during tur-bulent times: A systematic literature review and research agenda. Public Management Re-view, 26(6), 1706–1730. doi: 10.1080/14719037.2023.2219998
11. Chan, C. H., Chui, C. H. K., Chan, K. S. T., & Yip, P. S. F. (2019). The role of the social innova-tion and entrepreneurship development fund in fostering social entrepreneurship in Hong Kong: A study on public policy innovation. Social Policy & Administration, 53(6), 903–919. doi: 10.1111/spol.12524
12. Chandra, Y. (2017). Social entrepreneurship as emancipatory work. Journal of Business Ven-turing, 32(6), 657–673. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2017.08.004
13. Chandra, Y., & Kerlin, J. A. (2021). Social entrepreneurship in context: Pathways for new contributions in the field. Journal of Asian Public Policy, 14(2), 135–151. doi: 10.1080/17516234.2020.1845472
14. Ciasullo, M. V., Troisi, O., Grimaldi, M., & Leone, D. (2020). Multi-level governance for sus-tainable innovation in smart communities: An ecosystems approach. International Entrepre-neurship and Management Journal, 16(4), 1167–1195. doi: 10.1007/s11365-020-00641-6
15. Cornelissen, J. P., Akemu, O., Jonkman, J. G. F., & Werner, M. D. (2021). Building character: The formation of a hybrid organizational identity in a social enterprise. Journal of Manage-ment Studies, 58(5), 1294–1330. doi: 10.1111/joms.12640
16. Diaz-Sarachaga, J. M., & Ariza-Montes, A. (2022). The role of social entrepreneurship in the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. Journal of Business Research, 152, 242–250. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.07.061
17. do Adro, F., & Fernandes, C. I. (2020). Social innovation: A systematic literature review and future agenda research. International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, 17(1), 23–40. doi: 10.1007/s12208-019-00241-3
18. Douglas, E., & Prentice, C. (2019). Innovation and profit motivations for social entrepreneur-ship: A fuzzy-set analysis. Journal of Business Research, 99, 69–79. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.02.031
19. Dutta, S. (2019). Seeing parochially and acting locally: Social exposure, problem identification and social entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 34(6), Article 105942. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2019.06.003
20. Dwivedi, A., & Weerawardena, J. (2018). Conceptualizing and operationalizing the social en-trepreneurship construct. Journal of Business Research, 86, 32–40. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.01.053
21. Džunić, M., Stanković, J., & Janković-Milić, V. (2018). Multi-criteria approach in evaluating contribution of social entrepreneurship to the employment of socially-excluded groups. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 24(5), 1885–1908. doi: 10.3846/20294913.2017.1347906
22. Ed-Dib, D., & El Hamidi, N. (2019). Duality of formal and informal institutions and women's entrepreneurship in rural areas. Revue du Contrôle, de la Comptabilité et de l'Audit, 3(1), 70–86. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.14279219
23. Esteves, A. M., Genus, A., Henfrey, T., Penha-Lopes, G., & East, M. (2021). Sustainable entre-preneurship and the Sustainable Development Goals: Community-led initiatives, the social solidarity economy and commons ecologies. Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(3), 1423–1435. doi: 10.1002/bse.2706
24. Estrin, S., Mickiewicz, T., & Stephan, U. (2016). Human capital in social and commercial en-trepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 31(4), 449–467. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2016.05.003
25. Félix González, M., Husted, B. W., & Aigner, D. J. (2017). Opportunity discovery and creation in social entrepreneurship: An exploratory study in Mexico. Journal of Business Research, 81, 212–220. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.10.032
26. Gallo, P. J., & Melé, D. (2025). Work integration of people with mental disorders through so-cial enterprise: A humanistic-personalist framework and case study. Journal of Business Eth-ics, 199(4), 693–713. doi: 10.1007/s10551-024-05853-2
27. Girija, G. D., Banerji, A., Batra, S., Paruchuru, M., & Yeediballi, T. (2024). Making frugal inno-vations inclusive: A gendered approach. Journal of Cleaner Production, 434, Article 140182. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.140182
28. Goyal, S., Agrawal, A., & Sergi, B. S. (2021). Social entrepreneurship for scalable solutions addressing sustainable development goals at BoP in India. Qualitative Research in Organiza-tions and Management, 16(3/4), 509–529. doi: 10.1108/QROM-07-2020-1992
29. Gupta, P., Chauhan, S., Paul, J., & Jaiswal, M. P. (2020). Social entrepreneurship research: A review and future research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 113, 209–229. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.03.032
30. Haigh, N., Kennedy, E. D., & Walker, J. (2015). Hybrid organizations as shape-shifters: Alter-ing legal structure for strategic gain. California Management Review, 57(3), 59–82. doi: 10.1525/cmr.2015.57.3.59
31. Haigh, N., Walker, J., Bacq, S., & Kickul, J. (2015). Hybrid organizations: Origins, strategies, impacts, and implications. California Management Review, 57(3), 5–12. doi: 10.1525/cmr.2015.57.3.5
32. Hart, T. G. B., Ramoroka, K. H., Jacobs, P. T., & Letty, B. A. (2015). Revealing the social face of innovation. South African Journal of Science, 111(9/10), Article 2014-0126. doi: 10.17159/sajs.2015/20140126
33. Haugh, H. M., & Talwar, A. (2016). Linking social entrepreneurship and social change: The mediating role of empowerment. Journal of Business Ethics, 133(4), 643–658. doi: 10.1007/s10551-014-2449-4
34. Hoogendoorn, B. (2016). The prevalence and determinants of social entrepreneurship at the macro level. Journal of Small Business Management, 54(S1), 278–296. doi: 10.1111/jsbm.12301
35. Hossain, M. (2016). Grassroots innovation: A systematic review of two decades of research. Journal of Cleaner Production, 137, 973–981. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.07.140
36. Hossain, M. (2018). Frugal innovation: A review and research agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production, 182, 926–936. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.02.091
37. Hossain, M. (2020). Frugal innovation: Conception, development, diffusion, and outcome. Journal of Cleaner Production, 262, Article 121456. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121456
38. Kimbu, A. N., & Ngoasong, M. Z. (2016). Women as vectors of social entrepreneurship. Annals of Tourism Research, 60, 63–79. doi: 10.1016/j.annals.2016.06.002
39. Kummitha, R. K. R. (2016). Social entrepreneurship as a tool to remedy social exclusion: A win–win scenario? South Asia Research, 36(1), 61–79. doi: 10.1177/0262728015615485
40. Leliveld, A., & Knorringa, P. (2018). Frugal innovation and development research. European Journal of Development Research, 30(1), 1–16. doi: 10.1057/s41287-017-0121-4
41. Levänen, J., Hossain, M., Lyytinen, T., Hyvärinen, A., Numminen, S., & Halme, M. (2016). Im-plications of frugal innovations on sustainable development: Evaluating water and energy in-novations. Sustainability, 8(1), Article 4. doi: 10.3390/su8010004
42. Levänen, J., Hossain, M., & Wierenga, M. (2022). Frugal innovation in the midst of societal and operational pressures. Journal of Cleaner Production, 347, Article 131308. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131308
43. Littlewood, D., & Holt, D. (2018). Social entrepreneurship in South Africa: Exploring the in-fluence of environment. Business & Society, 57(3), 525–561. doi: 10.1177/0007650315613293
44. Maldonado-Mariscal, K. (2023). Grassroots innovation and social innovation in perspective. Frontiers in Sociology, 8, Article 1247293. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2023.1247293
45. Muñoz, P., & Kimmitt, J. (2019). Social mission as competitive advantage: A configurational analysis of strategic conditions of social entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Research, 101, 854–861. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.11.044
46. Nicolás, C., & Rubio, A. (2016). Social enterprise: Gender gap and economic development. European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 25(2), 56–62. doi: 10.1016/j.redeen.2015.11.001
47. Pacheco, J. N., Turro, A., & Urbano, D. (2025). Open social innovation: A systematic literature review and future research agenda. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 216, Article 124160. doi: 10.1016/j.techfore.2025.124160
48. Pathak, S., & Muralidharan, E. (2016). Informal institutions and their comparative influences on social and commercial entrepreneurship: The role of in-group collectivism and interper-sonal trust. Journal of Small Business Management, 54(S1), 168–188. doi: 10.1111/jsbm.12289
49. Pel, B., Haxeltine, A., Avelino, F., Dumitru, A., Kemp, R., Bauler, T., Kunze, I., Dorland, J., Wittmayer, J., & Jørgensen, M. S. (2020). Towards a theory of transformative social innova-tion: A relational framework and 12 propositions. Research Policy, 49(8), Article 104080. doi: 10.1016/j.respol.2020.104080
50. Periac, F., David, A., & Roberson, Q. (2018). Clarifying the interplay between social innovation and sustainable development: A conceptual framework rooted in paradox management. Eu-ropean Management Review, 15(1), 19–35. doi: 10.1111/emre.12121
51. Phillips, W., Lee, H., Ghobadian, A., O'Regan, N., & James, P. (2015). Social innovation and so-cial entrepreneurship: A systematic review. Group & Organization Management, 40(3), 428–461. doi: 10.1177/1059601114560063
52. Raman, R., Alka, V., Suresh, M., & Nedungadi, P. (2025). Social entrepreneurship and sus-tainable technologies: Impact on communities, social innovation, and inclusive development. Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship, 4(3), Article 100110. doi: 10.1016/j.stae.2025.100110
53. Rawhouser, H., Cummings, M., & Newbert, S. L. (2019). Social impact measurement: Current approaches and future directions for social entrepreneurship research. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 43(1), 82–115. doi: 10.1177/1042258717727718
54. Rosca, E., Reedy, J., & Bendul, J. C. (2018). Does frugal innovation enable sustainable devel-opment? A systematic literature review. European Journal of Development Research, 30(1), 136–157. doi: 10.1057/s41287-017-0106-3
55. Roundy, P. T. (2017). Social entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ecosystems. International Journal of Social Economics, 44(9), 1252–1267. doi: 10.1108/IJSE-02-2016-0045
56. Sacchetti, S. (2023). Prosocial organizational capabilities in the work-integration social enter-prise. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 34(5), 1036–1049. doi: 10.1007/s11266-022-00523-1
57. Saebi, T., Foss, N. J., & Linder, S. (2019). Social entrepreneurship research: Past achievements and future promises. Journal of Management, 45(1), 70–95. doi: 10.1177/0149206318793196
58. Sahasranamam, S., & Nandakumar, M. K. (2020). Individual capital and social entrepre-neurship: Role of formal institutions. Journal of Business Research, 107, 104–117. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.09.005
59. Santos, F., Pache, A.-C., & Birkholz, C. (2015). Making hybrids work: Aligning business models and organizational design for social enterprises. California Management Review, 57(3), 36–58. doi: 10.1525/cmr.2015.57.3.36
60. Setiawan, H. H., Yuda, T. K., Susantyo, B., Sulubere, M. B., Ganti, M., Habibullah, Sabarisman, M., & Murni, R. (2023). Scaling up social entrepreneurship to reduce poverty: Exploring the challenges and opportunities through stakeholder engagement. Frontiers in Sociology, 8, Arti-cle 1131762. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2023.1131762
61. Stephan, U., Uhlaner, L. M., & Stride, C. (2015). Institutions and social entrepreneurship: The role of institutional voids, institutional support, and institutional configurations. Journal of In-ternational Business Studies, 46(3), 308–331. doi: 10.1057/jibs.2014.38
62. Stevens, R., Moray, N., & Bruneel, J. (2015). The social and economic mission of social enter-prises: Dimensions, measurement, validation, and relation. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 39(5), 1051–1082. doi: 10.1111/etap.12091
63. Suseno, Y., & Abbott, L. (2021). Women entrepreneurs' digital social innovation: Linking gender, entrepreneurship, social innovation and information systems. Information Systems Journal, 31(5), 717–744. doi: 10.1111/isj.12327
64. Sutter, C., Bruton, G. D., & Chen, J. (2019). Entrepreneurship as a solution to extreme pov-erty: A review and future research directions. Journal of Business Venturing, 34(1), 197–214. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2018.06.003
65. Tam, H. L., Asamoah, E., & Chan, A. Y. F. (2021). Developing social entrepreneurship as an intervention to enhance disadvantaged young people's sense of self-worth and career com-petence in Hong Kong. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 16(6), 2497–2526. doi: 10.1007/s11482-021-09917-7
66. To, C. K. M., Guaita Martínez, J. M., Orero-Blat, M., & Chau, K. P. (2020). Predicting motiva-tional outcomes in social entrepreneurship: Roles of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and situa-tional fit. Journal of Business Research, 121, 209–222. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.08.022
67. van der Have, R. P., & Rubalcaba, L. (2016). Social innovation research: An emerging area of innovation studies? Research Policy, 45(9), 1923–1935. doi: 10.1016/j.respol.2016.06.010
68. Villalba Morales, M. L., Ruiz Castañeda, W. L., & Robledo Velásquez, J. (2023). Configuration of inclusive innovation systems: Function, agents and capabilities. Research Policy, 52(7), Ar-ticle 104796. doi: 10.1016/j.respol.2023.104796
69. Villotti, P., Zaniboni, S., Corbière, M., Guay, S., & Fraccaroli, F. (2018). Reducing perceived stigma: Work integration of people with severe mental disorders in Italian social enterprise. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 41(2), 125–134. doi: 10.1037/prj0000299
70. Voorberg, W. H., Bekkers, V. J. J. M., & Tummers, L. G. (2015). A systematic review of co-creation and co-production: Embarking on the social innovation journey. Public Manage-ment Review, 17(9), 1333–1357. doi: 10.1080/14719037.2014.930505
71. Wierenga, M. (2025). Grassroots innovation ecosystems supporting low-income innovators in emerging markets: A study on the Honey Bee Network. Business and Society Review, 130(1), 103–130. doi: 10.1111/basr.70004
72. Zhang, Y., Sun, J., Gao, F., & Dong, W. (2022). Paths out of poverty: Social entrepreneurship and sustainable development. Frontiers in Psychology