IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/worbus/v55y2020i5s1090951620300195.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The research frontier on internationalization of social enterprises

Author

Listed:
  • Alon, Ilan
  • Mersland, Roy
  • Musteen, Martina
  • Randøy, Trond

Abstract

Social enterprises (SEs) are hybrid organizations that simultaneously pursue financial and social goals, while addressing institutional voids. Despite the extensive cross-border activities of SEs, the state of research addressing such flows of funds, technology and personnel is undeveloped. In this introductory article, we discuss the unique aspects of SEs and explore how the international business literature can inform our understanding of their internationalization. We outline promising areas for future research related to the drivers of and the processes underlying SE internationalization as well as its consequences. With this as a background, we introduce the five articles in this Special Issue.

Suggested Citation

  • Alon, Ilan & Mersland, Roy & Musteen, Martina & Randøy, Trond, 2020. "The research frontier on internationalization of social enterprises," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(5).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:worbus:v:55:y:2020:i:5:s1090951620300195
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jwb.2020.101091
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090951620300195
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jwb.2020.101091?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kostova, Tatiana & Marano, Valentina & Tallman, Stephen, 2016. "Headquarters–subsidiary relationships in MNCs: Fifty years of evolving research," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 176-184.
    2. Erin Anderson & Hubert Gatignon, 1986. "Modes of Foreign Entry: A Transaction Cost Analysis and Propositions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 17(3), pages 1-26, September.
    3. Zahra, Shaker A. & Gedajlovic, Eric & Neubaum, Donald O. & Shulman, Joel M., 2009. "A typology of social entrepreneurs: Motives, search processes and ethical challenges," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 519-532, September.
    4. Mersland, Roy & Randøy, Trond & Strøm, Reidar Øystein, 2011. "The impact of international influence on microbanks' performance: A global survey," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 163-176, April.
    5. Timothy Besley & Maitreesh Ghatak, 2005. "Competition and Incentives with Motivated Agents," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(3), pages 616-636, June.
    6. Jan Johanson & Jan-Erik Vahlne, 2009. "The Uppsala internationalization process model revisited: From liability of foreignness to liability of outsidership," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(9), pages 1411-1431, December.
    7. Peter J. Buckley & Mark Casson, 1991. "The Future of the Multinational Enterprise," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, edition 0, number 978-1-349-21204-0.
    8. Trond Randøy & R. Øystein Strøm & Roy Mersland, 2015. "The Impact of Entrepreneur–CEOs in Microfinance Institutions: A Global Survey," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(4), pages 927-953, July.
    9. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    10. Bonache, Jaime & Zárraga-Oberty, Celia, 2020. "Compensating international mobility in a workers’ cooperative: An interpretive study," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(5).
    11. Leif Atle Beisland & Roy Mersland, 2017. "Exploring Microfinance Clients with Disabilities: A Case Study of an Ecuadorian Microbank," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(11), pages 1929-1943, November.
    12. Golesorkhi, Sougand & Mersland, Roy & Piekkari, Rebecca & Pishchulov, Grigory & Randøy, Trond, 2019. "The effect of language use on the financial performance of microfinance banks: Evidence from cross-border activities in 74 countries," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 213-229.
    13. Christian Bellak, 2004. "How Domestic and Foreign Firms Differ and Why Does it Matter?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(4), pages 483-514, September.
    14. Mersland, Roy & Strøm, R. Øystein, 2010. "Microfinance Mission Drift?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 28-36, January.
    15. Helena Barnard, 2019. "From the editor: The social side of international business policy – mapping social entrepreneurship in South Africa," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 2(1), pages 1-8, March.
    16. Tommaso Ramus & Antonino Vaccaro, 2017. "Stakeholders Matter: How Social Enterprises Address Mission Drift," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(2), pages 307-322, June.
    17. Anna Höchstädter & Barbara Scheck, 2015. "What’s in a Name: An Analysis of Impact Investing Understandings by Academics and Practitioners," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 449-475, December.
    18. Johanna Mair & Ignasi Marti, 2006. "Social Entrepreneurship Research: A Source of Explanation, Prediction, and Delight," Post-Print hal-02311880, HAL.
    19. John H. Dunning, 1977. "Trade, Location of Economic Activity and the MNE: A Search for an Eclectic Approach," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Bertil Ohlin & Per-Ove Hesselborn & Per Magnus Wijkman (ed.), The International Allocation of Economic Activity, chapter 12, pages 395-418, Palgrave Macmillan.
    20. Golesorkhi, Sougand & Mersland, Roy & Randøy, Trond & Shenkar, Oded, 2019. "The Performance Impact of Informal and Formal Institutional Differences in Cross-Border Alliances," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 104-118.
    21. Kevin McKague & Melissa Menke & Ajanthy Arasaratnam, 2014. "Access Afya: Micro-Clinic Health Franchise Designed for Scale," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Ilan Alon (ed.), Social Franchising, chapter 4, pages 61-79, Palgrave Macmillan.
    22. Shaker A. Zahra & Mike Wright, 2016. "Understanding the Social Role of Entrepreneurship," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 610-629, June.
    23. Chandra, Yanto, 2017. "Social entrepreneurship as emancipatory work," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 657-673.
    24. De Beule, Filip & Klein, Martin & Verwaal, Ernst, 2020. "Institutional quality and inclusive strategies at the base of the pyramid," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(5).
    25. Jan Johanson & Jan-Erik Vahlne, 1977. "The Internationalization Process of the Firm—A Model of Knowledge Development and Increasing Foreign Market Commitments," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 8(1), pages 23-32, March.
    26. Keith D Brouthers, 2013. "A retrospective on: Institutional, cultural and transaction cost influences on entry mode choice and performance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 44(1), pages 14-22, January.
    27. Sunduramurthy, Chamu & Zheng, Congcong & Musteen, Martina & Francis, John & Rhyne, Lawrence, 2016. "Doing more with less, systematically? Bricolage and ingenieuring in successful social ventures," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(5), pages 855-870.
    28. Miguel Rivera-Santos & Diane Holt & David Littlewood & Ans Kolk, 2015. "Social Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa," Post-Print hal-02311966, HAL.
    29. Weerawardena, Jay & Mort, Gillian Sullivan, 2006. "Investigating social entrepreneurship: A multidimensional model," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 21-35, February.
    30. Mair, Johanna & Marti, Ignasi, 2009. "Entrepreneurship in and around institutional voids: A case study from Bangladesh," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 419-435, September.
    31. Mike W Peng & Denis Y L Wang & Yi Jiang, 2008. "An institution-based view of international business strategy: a focus on emerging economies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(5), pages 920-936, July.
    32. Kibler, Ewald & Salmivaara, Virva & Stenholm, Pekka & Terjesen, Siri, 2018. "The evaluative legitimacy of social entrepreneurship in capitalist welfare systems," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(6), pages 944-957.
    33. Shameen Prashantham & Mariya Eranova & Carole Couper, 2018. "Globalization, entrepreneurship and paradox thinking," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 1-9, March.
    34. Marc Vilanova & Josep Lozano & Daniel Arenas, 2009. "Exploring the Nature of the Relationship Between CSR and Competitiveness," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 87(1), pages 57-69, April.
    35. Doh, Jonathan & Husted, Bryan W. & Yang, Xiaohua, 2016. "Guest Editors’ Introduction: Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Developing Country Multinationals," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 26(3), pages 301-315, July.
    36. Chamu Sundaramurthy & Martina Musteen & Amy E. Randel, 2013. "Social Value Creation: A Qualitative Study Of Indian Social Entrepreneurs," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(02), pages 1-20.
    37. Miguel Rivera-Santos & Diane Holt & David Littlewood & Ans Kolk, 2015. "Social Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa," Post-Print hal-02276715, HAL.
    38. Ram Mudambi & Pietro Navarra, 2004. "Is knowledge power? Knowledge flows, subsidiary power and rent-seeking within MNCs," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 35(5), pages 385-406, September.
    39. Veronica, Scuotto & Manlio, Del Giudice & Shlomo, Tarba & Antonio, Messeni Petruzzelli & Victor, Chang, 2020. "International social SMEs in emerging countries: Do governments support their international growth?," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(5).
    40. John H Dunning, 1980. "Towards an Eclectic Theory of International Production: Some Empirical Tests," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 11(1), pages 9-31, March.
    41. Peter Tashman & Valentina Marano & Tatiana Kostova, 2019. "Walking the walk or talking the talk? Corporate social responsibility decoupling in emerging market multinationals," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(2), pages 153-171, March.
    42. Shaker A. Zahra & Lance R. Newey & Yong Li, 2014. "On the Frontiers: The Implications of Social Entrepreneurship for International Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 38(1), pages 137-158, January.
    43. Smith, Adam & Judge, William & Pezeshkan, Amir & Nair, Anil, 2016. "Institutionalizing entrepreneurial expertise in subsistence economies," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(6), pages 910-922.
    44. Gaur, Ajai S. & Kumar, Vikas & Singh, Deeksha, 2014. "Institutions, resources, and internationalization of emerging economy firms," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 12-20.
    45. Tyler Wry & Eric Yanfei Zhao, 2018. "Taking Trade-offs Seriously: Examining the Contextually Contingent Relationship Between Social Outreach Intensity and Financial Sustainability in Global Microfinance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(3), pages 507-528, June.
    46. Xing, Yijun & Liu, Yipeng & Lattemann, Christoph, 2020. "Institutional logics and social enterprises: Entry mode choices of foreign hospitals in China," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(5).
    47. Smith, Wendy K. & Gonin, Michael & Besharov, Marya L., 2013. "Managing Social-Business Tensions: A Review and Research Agenda for Social Enterprise," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(3), pages 407-442, July.
    48. Keith D Brouthers, 2013. "Institutional, cultural and transaction cost influences on entry mode choice and performance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 44(1), pages 1-13, January.
    49. Pisani, Niccolò & Kourula, Arno & Kolk, Ans & Meijer, Renske, 2017. "How global is international CSR research? Insights and recommendations from a systematic review," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(5), pages 591-614.
    50. Siqueira, Ana Cristina O. & Guenster, Nadja & Vanacker, Tom & Crucke, Saskia, 2018. "A longitudinal comparison of capital structure between young for-profit social and commercial enterprises," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 225-240.
    51. Benjamin M Oviatt & Patricia Phillips McDougall, 1994. "Toward a Theory of International New ventures," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 25(1), pages 45-64, March.
    52. Hua Wang & Ilan Alon & Chris Kimble, 2015. "Dialogue in the Dark : Shedding Light on the Development of Social Enterprises in China," Post-Print hal-02313425, HAL.
    53. Musteen, Martina & Rhyne, Lawrence & Zheng, Congcong, 2013. "Asset or constraint: Corporate reputation and MNCs’ involvement in the least developed countries," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 321-328.
    54. Harry G Barkema & Rian Drogendijk, 2007. "Internationalising in small, incremental or larger steps?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(7), pages 1132-1148, December.
    55. Mair, Johanna & Martí, Ignasi, 2006. "Social entrepreneurship research: A source of explanation, prediction, and delight," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 36-44, February.
    56. Drori, Israel & Manos, Ronny & Santacreu-Vasut, Estefania & Shoham, Amir, 2020. "How does the global microfinance industry determine its targeting strategy across cultures with differing gender values?," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(5).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nathalie N. Larsen & Martin Hannibal, 2021. "International social ventures: A literature review and guidance for future research," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 223-255, June.
    2. João Paulo Coelho Ribeiro & Fábio Duarte & Ana Paula Matias Gama, 2022. "Does microfinance foster the development of its clients? A bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 8(1), pages 1-35, December.
    3. Vavilov, Stanislav & Manning, Stephan, 2024. "How entrepreneurial ecosystems support the formation of international base-of-the-pyramid ventures: The case of Boston," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    4. Lin, Yi-Hsin & Lin, Feng-Jyh & Wang, Kuo-Hsiung, 2021. "The effect of social mission on service quality and brand image," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 744-752.
    5. De Beule, Filip & Bruneel, Johan & Dobson, Kieran, 2023. "The internationalization of social enterprises: The impact of business model characteristics," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(6).
    6. Sommeno, Tigist Woldetsadik & Mersland, Roy & Randøy, Trond, 2024. "The impact of liability of foreignness on performance in hybrid organizations," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(2).
    7. Jamali, Dima & Jain, Tanusree & Samara, Georges & Zoghbi, Edwina, 2020. "How institutions affect CSR practices in the Middle East and North Africa: A critical review," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(5).
    8. Sharjana Alam Shaily & Nazmun Nahar Emma, 2021. "Integration of Artificial Intelligence Marketing to Get Brand Recognition for Social Business," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 11(4), pages 29-37.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sommeno, Tigist Woldetsadik & Mersland, Roy & Randøy, Trond, 2024. "The impact of liability of foreignness on performance in hybrid organizations," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(2).
    2. Pradeep Kumar Hota, 2023. "Tracing the Intellectual Evolution of Social Entrepreneurship Research: Past Advances, Current Trends, and Future Directions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(3), pages 637-659, January.
    3. Mersland, Roy & Nyarko, Samuel Anokye & Sirisena, Amila Buddhika, 2020. "A hybrid approach to international market selection: The case of impact investing organizations," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(1).
    4. Adélie Ranville & Marcos Barros, 2022. "Towards Normative Theories of Social Entrepreneurship. A Review of the Top Publications of the Field," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(2), pages 407-438, October.
    5. Gupta, Parul & Chauhan, Sumedha & Paul, Justin & Jaiswal, M.P., 2020. "Social entrepreneurship research: A review and future research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 209-229.
    6. Chen, Jie & Saarenketo, Sami & Puumalainen, Kaisu, 2018. "Home country institutions, social value orientation, and the internationalization of ventures," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 443-454.
    7. Angulo-Ruiz, Fernando & Pergelova, Albena & Dana, Leo Paul, 2020. "The internationalization of social hybrid firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 266-278.
    8. Liedong, Tahiru Azaaviele & Peprah, Augustine Awuah & Amartey, Abednego Okoe & Rajwani, Tazeeb, 2020. "Institutional voids and firms' resource commitment in emerging markets: A review and future research agenda," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 26(3).
    9. Robert-Nicoud, Frédéric & Olarreaga, Marcelo & Carrère, Céline & Fugazza, Marco, 2016. "On the heterogeneous effect of trade on unemployment," CEPR Discussion Papers 11540, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Maria Margarida Avillez & Andrew Greenman & Susan Marlow, 2020. "Ethical Judgments About Social Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Influence of Spatio-Cultural Meanings," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 161(4), pages 877-892, February.
    11. De Beule, Filip & Bruneel, Johan & Dobson, Kieran, 2023. "The internationalization of social enterprises: The impact of business model characteristics," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(6).
    12. Kaushik, Vineet & Tewari, Shobha & Sahasranamam, Sreevas & Hota, Pradeep Kumar, 2023. "Towards a precise understanding of social entrepreneurship: An integrated bibliometric–machine learning based review and research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    13. Surdu, Irina & Mellahi, Kamel, 2016. "Theoretical foundations of equity based foreign market entry decisions: A review of the literature and recommendations for future research," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 1169-1184.
    14. Veronica, Scuotto & Manlio, Del Giudice & Shlomo, Tarba & Antonio, Messeni Petruzzelli & Victor, Chang, 2020. "International social SMEs in emerging countries: Do governments support their international growth?," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(5).
    15. Xing, Yijun & Liu, Yipeng & Lattemann, Christoph, 2020. "Institutional logics and social enterprises: Entry mode choices of foreign hospitals in China," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(5).
    16. Sayem Hossain & M. Abu Saleh & Judy Drennan, 0. "A critical appraisal of the social entrepreneurship paradigm in an international setting: a proposed conceptual framework," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-22.
    17. Gali, Nazha & Niemand, Thomas & Shaw, Eleanor & Hughes, Mathew & Kraus, Sascha & Brem, Alexander, 2020. "Social entrepreneurship orientation and company success: The mediating role of social performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    18. Sayem Hossain & M. Abu Saleh & Judy Drennan, 2017. "A critical appraisal of the social entrepreneurship paradigm in an international setting: a proposed conceptual framework," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 347-368, June.
    19. Xiangping Jia & Geoffrey Desa, 2020. "Social entrepreneurship and impact investment in rural–urban transformation: An orientation to systemic social innovation and symposium findings," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(4), pages 1217-1239, December.
    20. Reddy, Kotapati Srinivasa, 2016. "Institutional Voids and Tax litigation in Emerging Economies: The verdict of Vodafone cross-border acquisition of Hutchison," MPRA Paper 74264, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2016.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:worbus:v:55:y:2020:i:5:s1090951620300195. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/620401/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.