On Legitimacy of WISEs

Abstract

Amid the increasing diversification of social development, the services provided by the government hardly satisfy all sorts of needs. The establishment of non-profit organizations ( NPO s) timely addresses the government’s deficiency in handling public affairs. As a result, the NPO s almost turn into private enterprises and social enterprises aim to deliver public benefits, which has aroused disputes and doubts like “mission drift” and “for-profits in disguise.” This article adopts Suchman’s pragmatic, moral and cognitive legitimacy analysis to reexamine the work integration social enterprises (WISEs) which enable the disadvantaged or those with disabilities to join in the labor market after training, coaching and professional practice. Based on literature review and in-depth interview, this article makes a case study of CANYOU, an exemplary social enterprise set by persons with disabilities by leveraging advanced technologies.