Social enterprise performance: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The surge in the growth of social entrepreneurship scholarship and its evolution concerning social enterprise management and performance results in the extant literature demands a comprehensive study from a holistic viewpoint. In order to close this gap, the current study undertakes a thorough review of empirical research. The results revealed the following: (1) Performance assessment of social enterprises should blend both financial and social performance to reflect their “total wealth”. (2) Behavioural factors of social entrepreneurs have a positive impact on social enterprise performance, in which entrepreneurial orientation and social orientation are the most prevalent characteristics. (3) To manifest the performance and efficacy of social enterprises, it is crucial to apply a combination of bricolage, effectuation, and causality logic. Bricolage guarantees community commitment and social innovation; the effectuation approach is to overcome resource constraints, and causation is important for a successful organisation. (4) A country's institutions, such as government laws, value systems, and shared social knowledge, exercise their significant effect through the social entrepreneurship journey. This review is expected to deepen understanding of the effects of entrepreneur’s behaviours, processes, and external institutions on the performance of social enterprises; and set the stage for interested scholars to undertake in their future