Can social enterprises achieve resilience and at what price?

Abstract

Social enterprises (SEs) are claimed to be able to address “wicked social problems¹” in various policy instruments and governance models. However, doubts have been raised about whether the hybrid nature results in fundamental challenges that could prevent SEs from becoming ideal and sustainable public service organizations. Drawing upon organizational resilience literature, this article reveals two trade-offs between social and business service qualities when SEs seek long-term solutions to the challenges in delivering public services. This article argues that SEs—employing different hybrid models, emphasizing social or business service quality—jointly can overcome the trade-offs to deliver sustainable and accountable public services at the public service contract level and the individual user's level.