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Drawing on an accountability framework developed for social enterprise organizations (SEOs), this paper examines the annual report disclosure practices of SEOs in the United Kingdom in order to investigate the types of accountability disclosed by SEOs.

After developing a SEO database, and utilizing a bespoke document coding checklist, the annual reports of 129 SEOs were examined.

The results indicate that while SEOs would be expected to account in line with normative stakeholder theory, many do not provide constructive and voluntary accountability information to their stakeholders, at least through the annual report, and that their focus is on satisfying legal obligations.

In response to calls for research to better understand accountability in new organizational contexts, this paper makes two contributions: firstly, by extending prior accountability research in the NFP sector to consider organizational hybrids, it raises questions about organizational accountability and how it is discharged in situations where an organization operates as a business and yet is accountable for its social mission; secondly, assuming these organizations are driven by their business and social logics, the findings suggest that SEO accountability disclosure practices are inconsistent with the social objectives on which they are based.

Social enterprise organisations (SEOs) operate across the boundaries of the public, private and not‐for‐profit (NFP) sectors in delivering public services and competing for resources and legitimacy. While there is a rich literature on accountability in the private and public sectors, together with the wider NFP sector, SEOs have received comparatively little attention and remain a relatively under‐researched organisational form. Drawing on accountability, legitimacy and user‐needs theories, the purpose of this paper is to develop a practical framework which can be used to explore how accountability within SEOs is constructed and discharged.

This paper draws on user‐needs, accountability, legitimacy and impression management theories expounded in relation to the private, public and NFP sectors.

A framework to better understand how accountability can be discharged by SEOs is developed and discussed.

While a framework for better understanding SEO accountability is presented, it is not empirically tested. However, the framework has the potential to facilitate a deeper appreciation of the theory and practice of accountability within SEOs and, notwithstanding the inherent difficulties in measuring and managing accountability, could be used to stimulate practitioner involvement.

As little is known about the current extent of SEO information disclosure or accountability relationships, the framework could be used to assess the discharge of accountability by SEOs, with the findings informing future developments. This should provide useful insights into internal processes and organisational views on accountability bases and mechanisms and can then be used to inform the debate on how SEOs can best discharge their duty to account.

Understanding the nature of SEO accountability reporting has important implications for those involved in advancing the SEO agenda. At a time of public sector cutbacks, and with the government searching for new and more effective ways of delivering services, the role of SEOs in this process is likely to receive greater attention and scrutiny.

SEOs have grown extensively in size and prominence in recent years and policymakers have come to embrace the role that they play in societal development. This paper responds to a gap in the theoretical literature and contributes to the debate by developing a framework which can be empirically tested. Moreover, it can be used to prompt practitioner involvement and facilitate a better understanding of the complex issues surrounding accounting and accountability in this under‐researched area.

Social enterprise organizations (SEOs) arise from entrepreneurial activities with the aim to achieve social goals. SEOs have been identified as alternative and/or complementary to the actions of governments and international organizations to address poverty and poverty-related social needs. Using a number of illustrative cases, we explore how variation of local institutional mechanisms shapes the local “face of poverty” in different communities and how this relates to variations in the emergence and strategic orientations of SEOs. We develop a model of the productive opportunity space for SEOs as a basis and an inspiration for further scholarly inquiry.

The purpose of this paper is to inform scholars and practitioners about the current body of knowledge on the role of social capital in scaling social impact since these concepts are still poorly understood and literature is fragmented despite their importance.

A systematic literature review of 27 highly relevant studies in leading journals is conducted, and the results are synthesized into an integrative theoretical framework.

The framework identifies possible dependent, independent, mediating and moderating variables which conceptualize the role of social capital in scaling social impact.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to systematically map social capital’s role in scaling social impact literature with the help of an integrative theoretical framework. For researchers, this framework would help by providing a shared frame of reference to conceptualize the role of social capital in scaling social impact and identify future research directions. Practitioners can use the findings of this review as a guide while designing and implementing scaling social impact programs.

How does organizations' embeddedness in social and cultural communities influence their behavior? And how has this changed with recent communication technology advances and globalization trends? In this introductory chapter to Research in the Sociology of Organization's volume on Communities and Organizations we consider how diverse types of communities influence organizations, as well as the associated benefit of developing a richer accounting for community processes in organizational theory. Our goal is to move beyond the focus on social proximity and networks that has characterized existing work on communities. We highlight how the notion of community provides a distinct institutional order that enables actors to tailor community logics that give cultural meaning to and govern specific institutional fields and furthermore how communities can function as an organizational form.

The aim of this systematic literature review (SLR) is to map out the current state of the research on collaboration in the context of social entrepreneurship organisations (SEOs), synthesise this line of research and advance a research agenda.

A SLR of 40 scientific articles found in the Scopus and Web of Science databases built the foundation for an analysis of the state-of-the-art of the research addressing the interplay of SEOs and collaboration. This area of research has been very recent since the selected articles have been published since 2005 and more than half of which have appeared since 2017.

The findings suggest that collaboration is increasingly perceived as a crucial entrepreneurial activity and process for SEOs. The results indicate that collaboration is a vibrant and rapidly growing line of research which spans different fields of study, contexts, varied theoretical perspectives and multiple units of analysis. Furthermore, a total of five key research themes are identified pertaining to collaboration in the context of SEOs, such as motivations and strategies of collaboration, its antecedents, the interplay of institutional logics and tensions arising in collaboration, the impact of collaboration on the mission of SEOs and collaborative processes and practices.

To lend structure to this fragmented field of inquiry, this study systematically reviews and synthesises research on collaboration in the context of SEOs. In doing so, the study reveals that this line of research is under-researched, offering a significant scope for further scrutiny.

This paper aims to analyse how social entrepreneurship organizations that use approach of social bricolage adapt their business model to develop social innovation. The past decade has witnessed a surge of research interest in social entrepreneurship organizations (SEOs). This has resulted in important insights concerning their role in fostering social challenges. The crisis of both public and private profit-driven models meet the arising of new initiatives designed to meet the minor and often abandoned cultural heritage consumption need. Drawing on the domain of SEOs and social bricolage framework, these initiatives are able to pursue the social and the economic mission together and to produce social innovation.

This paper aims to analyze how SEOs that use strategies of social bricolage can improve the development and diffusion of social innovation. Employing in-depth multiple comparative case studies of 15 cultural SEOs in the South of Italy, through the analysis of semi-structured interview, the study enhance current understanding of the social dimension of SEOs.

First results show that SEOs in the domain of minor cultural heritage adopt an innovative business model and in particular a social business model unraveling organizational dimensions falling into the social bricolage. The relation between social bricolage dimensions and social business model criteria produces outcomes in which social innovation can be expressed.

This study enhances current understanding of the social dimensions of business model involved in social innovation production of cultural SEOs. This research aims to be a benchmark of the social innovation initiatives in the field of minor cultural heritage management.

Purpose: To examine the refugee women's empowerment and integration component of the pilot program of a Turkish social entrepreneurial organization (SEO) specialized in supporting disadvantaged women's empowerment. Methodology/Approach: The chapter utilizes a comparative qualitative case study approach to investigate the interplay between the dimensions of: business model, knowledge acquisition, and learning experiences, the achievement of goals, and scalability in determining social innovations. Findings: Despite the widespread belief that women's cooperative is an ideal business model for inclusivity, the chapter presents a variance in achieving this goal. The results propose that a strong business model, enhanced with knowledge acquisition and learning, and an inclusive approach to innovation, enable a women's cooperative to offer desirable solutions to community needs, improving its chances for higher impact. Research Limitations/Implications: The chapter adds to social entrepreneurship literature by offering multilevel analysis in examining social innovation, which has been often neglected as a research approach in the field. It asserts that an investigation into the community as a unit of analysis promises to be viable research in social innovation studies. Practical Implications: An inclusive approach that develops relations with the broader community and networking with other cooperatives and social actors is essential for women's cooperatives. Social Implications: The SEO's increasing local reach and impact have made it a strong actor in women's empowerment on the ground and force for institutional change. In the long term, SEOs' actions targeting multiple actors of influence will increase the chances of suggested framework changes accepted by policymakers.

Despite growing scholarly interest in social entrepreneurs and the social enterprises (SE) they create, few studies have examined the hybridity of SE including, surprisingly, whether they adopt an entrepreneurial orientation (EO). One explanation for this may be the continuing lack of an appropriate scale measuring social entrepreneurship orientation (SEO). The purpose of this paper is to address this research gap by proposing an initial SEO scale based on input from scholars in the fields of entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship.

This study employed mixed methods and a two stage design. In stage 1, a Delphi study with 18 researchers with expertise of investigating entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship was used to generate constructs combining aspects of both social and EOs. In stage 2, the authors assessed the face validity of the derived items from the Delphi study by conducting a survey with 82 such experts.

This paper provides fresh empirical insights into how SEO can be measured by proposing, for the first time, a 12 item scale with four dimensions for the first time.

The authors recommend that future studies employ quantitative methods, particularly with firms exhibiting differing levels of the “socialness” dimension which the authors propose and that such studies involve a variety of research informants. Statistical analysis of data collected across large sample sizes will help evaluate the reliability and validity of the scale which the authors propose.

This paper includes implications for future research based on the proposed SEO measurement scale.

This paper develops the first SEO scale based on empirical data collected from experts in the fields of entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship.

This study investigates the influence of organizational social capital (OSC) on the social and economic performance of social enterprises (SEs) in Greece and the mediating role of social entrepreneurship orientation (SEO) in these relationships.

A theoretical framework was developed integrating resource-based theory, OSC theory and behavioral entrepreneurship theory. The data were collected from 345 Greek SEs and structural equation modeling (SEM) with bootstrap analysis was employed to estimate path coefficients.

This study shows that OSC positively impacts SEs’ social and economic performance, while SEO mediates only the relationship between OSC and SEs’ social performance. This research offers insights for scholars, practitioners and policymakers in social entrepreneurship by highlighting the significance of OSC and SEO.

This study contributes to the literature on SEs by integrating resource-based theory, OSC theory and behavioral entrepreneurship theory, presenting a novel comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding SEs’ performances. Additionally, the study advances the understanding of SEO as a mediator in the relationship between OSC and SEs’ social and economic performance. The unique focus on the Greek context provides a valuable setting for examining the relationships among OSC, SEO and SEs’ performances.