Measuring the Sustainability of Social Entrepreneurship in Developing Global Economies

Abstract

Social entrepreneurship has become a key driver towards dealing with multifaceted social, economic and environmental issues within the developing economies across the world. Social enterprises have dual mission of financial viability and social impact unlike conventional enterprises that take profit maximization as priority. Nevertheless, the difficulty of sustaining such ventures has proven to be a long-term problem because of different contextual realities, lack of institutional backing, and the perception of what defines the success of such ventures. This study explores the multidimensional framework of sustainability in social entrepreneurship by incorporating economic, social and environmental metrics in a holistic evaluation system. Through mixed-method, 120 social enterprises in five developing regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East were sampled. The quantitative analysis used the Sustainability Performance Index (SPI) based on the financial resilience, stakeholder engagement, and environmental responsibility indicators, and the qualitative analysis was conducted using interviews conducted in a contextual manner. The findings show that social enterprises that demonstrated positive collaboration with communities and flexible business models had better sustainability scores than enterprises that rely on donating funds or their limited innovativeness. Moreover, the institutional ecosystems (support of government policy, accessibility of impact investment, and educational infrastructure) were significant in the determination of long-term viability.

This research hypothesizes a Sustainability Measurement Framework (SMF) that is empirically tested to suit developing economies with the focus on capacity building, financial independence, and social inclusivity as the key pillars of survival. The study is valuable to both theory and practice in terms of offering quantifiable indicators to policymakers, investors as well as social entrepreneurs who might wish to balance the objectives of enterprise growth with sustainable development objectives. Finally, the article stresses the fact that the sustainability of social entrepreneurship in the future lies in creating a balance between local innovation and global sustainability models.