Social entrepreneurship: New models of sustainable social change

Abstract

Social entrepreneurship represents a multifaceted response to systemic social and environmental market failures that conventional state and private sectors have failed to resolve. By synthesizing business strategies with social missions, practitioners generate blended value across a spectrum of organizational forms, ranging from grant-dependent non-profits to fully self-sufficient social enterprises. The growth of this field is facilitated by increasing global connectivity, shifts in philanthropic paradigms toward high-engagement venture models, and the emergence of institutional support networks. Central to the maturation of the discipline is the development of rigorous metrics, such as Social Return on Investment, which attempt to quantify social impact alongside financial performance. Challenges remain in establishing a robust social capital market, ensuring accountability in loosely regulated environments, and preventing mission drift as organizations pursue earned income strategies. Effective scaling of social innovations often requires networked collaboration and systemic structural changes rather than simple organizational expansion. Advancing the field requires a deeper integration of theory and practice to move beyond anecdotal evidence toward a sustainable, evidence-based framework for global social change. – AI-generated abstract.