The Social Impact of Social Enterprises: A Holistic View and a Contextualized Explanation

Despite the importance of social impact in the field of social entrepreneurship, there is an ongoing debate among researchers regarding its conceptualization and measurement. Through a multiple-case study of 38 social enterprises and 11 impact investors in USA, Europe, and India, we study the social impact of social enterprises at individual, community, and societal levels of analysis. Drawing upon the work of Amartya Sen and the theoretical lens of Bourdieu we offer a holistic view on social impact as an aggregate of three mutually reinforcing factors: influence on the field, development of capabilities, and transformation of individuals’ habitus. By combining these factors, we generate a typology of social enterprises, thus providing a contextualized explanation of social impact in the social entrepreneurship domain.