Sustainability of social economy organizations (SEOs): An analysis of the conditions for surviving and thriving

ABSTRACT

Social economy organizations (SEOs), designed to do good for society, have been attracting significant attention as an alternative to purely profit-driven businesses. However, the sustainability of these hybrid organizations has been questioned due to the challenges in meeting the dual bottom-lines of financial performance and social purpose. This article takes a causal-process tracing (CPT) case study approach and analyzes eight SEOs to investigate the common characteristics of sustainable SEOs. The results of the analysis show that effective leadership is a sufficient (but not necessary) condition for the survival of SEOs, while leadership is a necessary (but not sufficient) condition for SEOs’ thriving. Business competitiveness is found to be necessary for SEOs’ long-term success and performance over time. Collaborative networking is a contributory condition for SEOs thriving but not a necessary condition for their survival.

KEYWORDS:

• Social economy organization
• Sustainability
• Social enterprises
• Third sector

Highlights

• Effective leadership is necessary for SEOs thriving beyond their mere survival.

• Well-designed networking strategies for collaboration are a contributory condition for achieving success in social goals of SEOs’ activities

• Business competitiveness is not a sufficient nor necessary condition for survival of SEOs but it is necessary for SEOs to thrive.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

¹ This typology is originally from legal terms in South Korea’s social economy system and is commonly used among scholars and practitioners. The three types of SEOs are not mutually exclusive. For example, a social enterprise can have legal status as a cooperative too.

Additional information

Funding

Wonhyuk Cho received partial support from the National Research Foundation of Korea through a grant [NRF-2017S1A3A2065838] to work on this project.