Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue, which explores the concept and significance of social enterprise and social entrepreneurship internationally. Design/methodology/approach – This introductory article examines the literature that exists to date and...

Purpose – The paper seeks to explore the implications of a critical approach to theory and method in the study of social enterprises and social entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a re‐reading of the findings in a major case‐study based research programme....

Purpose – This paper seeks to examine the discourses that influence policy and practice in social enterprises. In institutional circles, arguments are shaped by the desire to protect assets for the community, while entrepreneurial discourses favour a mixture of investment sources, surplus...

Purpose – The central suggestion of this paper is that innovation in the concept of entrepreneurship is overdue and that the concept of entrepreneurship needs to be extended to accommodate its often neglected collective or pluralistic dimension, a concept termed “associative...

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the process by which the social entrepreneurial identity can be constructed through narrative, concentrating specifically on the construction of the identity of the ideologically inclined social‐activist entrepreneur. Design/methodology/approach – A...

Purpose – Various theoretical issues and debates were investigated in order to measure quantitatively social entrepreneurship (SE) activity (SEA), together with the different skills associated with successful SE in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach – This was primarily an exploratory...