A review of literature on social enterprise

Abstract

The social enterprise is a topic that has experienced a significant interest among researchers in response to the reality of a new business model that seeks a positive impact on society. In this paper we provide an extensive review of the existing literature on social enterprise from a global perspective, covering the articles from 2007 to 2017. It covers the basic aspects related to the social economy, to understand the needs that led to the creation of this new sector. First, a global vision is presented to define the social economy through country level studies. Secondly, we describe the methodology used to obtain such data from the social enterprise and its explanations. Finally, some guidelines are discussed, as well as conclusions showing that this sector is more developed and important for job creation and the economy.