Abstract
The social economy has an important role within the worldwide societies as it promotes sustainable growth and it places upfront people and communities instead of profits. It has a significant contribution in the generation not just of meaningful employment, but also it supports social cohesion, and provides solutions to unmet needs of the society. Within social economy, social enterprises have developed as key actors, addressing various social and environmental challenges, integrated in entrepreneurial strategies driven by social missions. The present paper focuses on understanding typologies of social entrepreneurship and aims to address the research question of how models of sustainable social entrepreneurship within the social economy can be identified, conceptualized and classified. The analysis exposes the need to understand the differences that exists between typologies of social entrepreneurship in order to better integrate them in various local context, and further develop public policies aiming to support sustainable development in various geographic contexts. Furthermore, the paper underlines the need to prioritize the economic, social and environmental dimensions of social economy to favor models of sustainable social entrepreneurship.
Cuvinte cheie
social entrepreneurship
social economy
sustainable development
community values
social capital
Istoric articol
Publicat
01.02.2026
Informații autori
Citare recomandată
Constantin‑Daniel Văduva, Camelia Surugiu (2026). Exploring Typologies of Social Entrepreneurship and Further Pathways Toward Sustainability. Journal of Economic Sciences, 1(1), 220–226. https://doi.org/10.65631/jes.1.2026.21
Referințe bibliografice
Austin, J., Stevenson, H., Wei-Skillern, J., Social and commercial entrepreneurship: Same, different, or both?, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 30(1), 2006, pp. 1-22, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2006.00107.x
Battilana, J., Lee, M., Advancing research on hybrid organizing: Insights from the study of social enterprises, Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), 2014, pp. 397-441, https://doi.org/10.5465/19416520.2014.893615
Borzaga, C., Defourny, J., The Emergence of Social Enterprise, Routledge, London, 2001, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203164679
Chaves, R., Monzón, J. L., The social economy in the European Union, European Economic and Social Committee, Brussels, 2012
Dees, J. G., The meaning of social entrepreneurship, Stanford University, Stanford, 2001
Elkington, J., Cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of 21st century business, Capstone Publishing, Oxford, 1998
Emerson, J., The blended value proposition: Integrating social and financial returns, California Management Review, 45(4), 2003, pp. 35-51, https://doi.org/10.2307/41166187
European Commission: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe - Country report - Romania, Publications Office, 2019, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2767/481622
European Commission, Building an economy that works for people: An action plan for the social economy, COM(2021) 778 final, Brussels, 2021, https://doi.org/10.2767/12083
European Commission / EISMEA, Benchmarking the socio-economic performance of the EU social economy, Luxembourg, 2024
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Global Innovation Index 2024: Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship, Geneva, https://doi.org/10.34667/tind.50062
Mair, J., Battilana, J., Cardenas, J., Organizing for society: A typology of social entrepreneuring models, Journal of Business Ethics, 111, 2012, pp. 353-373, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1414-3
Mair, J., Marti, I., Social entrepreneurship research: A source of explanation, prediction, and delight, Journal of World Business, 41(1), 2006, pp. 36-44, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2005.09.002
Martin, R. L., Osberg, S., Social entrepreneurship: The case for definition, Stanford Social Innovation Review, 5(2), 2007, pp. 28-39, https://doi.org/10.48558/TSAV-FG11
Nicholls, A. (Ed.), Social entrepreneurship: New models of sustainable social change, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2006, https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199283873.001.0001
OECD/European Union, Social Economy in Europe: Contributing to Competitiveness and Prosperity, Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED), OECD Publishing, Paris, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1787/3432de93-en
Parlamentul României, Legea nr. 219/2015 privind economia socială, Monitorul Oficial al României, Partea I, nr. 561/28.07.2015
Polychronopoulos, G., Lukeš, M., Sansone, G., Agrawal, A., Ulrich-Diener, F., Šlapáková Losová, V., Outcome-based typology of social enterprises: Interlacing individual transformation, capital provision, and societal influence, Journal of Management Studies, 62(6), 2024, pp. 2387-2413, https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.13138
Putnam, R. D., Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Simon & Schuster, New York, 2000
Schwartz, S. H., An overview of the Schwartz theory of basic values, Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1), 2012, pp. 1-20, https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1116
Stokols, D., Misra, S., Runnerstrom, M. G., Hipp, J. A., Psychology in an age of ecological crisis: From personal angst to collective action, American Psychologist, 64(3), 2009, pp. 181-193, https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014717
Wray-Lake, L., Christens, B.D., Flanagan, C.A., Community Values. In: Maggino, F. (eds.) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Cham., 2023, pp. 1212-1217, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17299-1_482
Yunus, M., Building Social Business: The New Kind of Capitalism that Serves Humanity's Most Pressing Needs, PublicAffairs, New York, 2010
Zahra, S. A., Gedajlovic, E., Neubaum, D. O., Shulman, J. M., A typology of social entrepreneurs: Motives, search processes and ethical challenges, Journal of Business Venturing, 24(5), 2009, pp. 519-532, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2008.04.007