Doing Social Good in a Sustainable Way: A Conceptual Paper on Social Enterprise Performance

Abstract

Social entrepreneurship has gained prominence over the past few decades as a means of driving potentially transformative societal improvements. These ventures typically aim to support economically disadvantaged groups who are unable to improve their circumstances without help. However, the endeavours should be financially sustainable, as there is no guarantee that subsidies from taxpayers or charitable donors will continue indefinitely. The importance of financial outcomes as a resource for achieving greater social impact is often underestimated, particularly by social entrepreneurs who prioritize social goals over financial success. Previous research findings were systematically synthesized to provide insights into the specific factors that enhance the performance of social enterprises. This paper especially employs business perspectives to understand the self-sustaining mechanism for social good. The framework suggests that Entrepreneurial Orientation is a predictor that maximizes financial returns (mediating variable) for the social performance of social enterprises. A moderating variable of Social Orientation was adopted to reflect the relationship between the predictor and the level of financial performance. This offers new insights into the strategic management of social enterprises.