Analyzing the Success of Social Enterprises: Critical Success Factors Perspective

The increasing awareness in recent decades of the potential contribution of social entreprises to the economy and society is hardly surprising in view of the growing number of third-sector organizations, namely, the segment of the economy that is made up of neither public nor business concerns. Despite growing interest in social entrepreneurship and social economy, the literature in this topic is still fragmented, especially little research was done on critical success factors (CSFs) of social sector organisations. The basic goal behind any action undertaken in an organization management is the will to achieve success. Critical (or key) success factors are the organization’s resources, competence and qualification that create its competitive advantage on a particular market at a given time, and are able to determine its possible future success. The aim of this article is to identify critical success factors of the of social enterprises operating in social setting in Poland. An exploratory qualitative field study included 300 respondents representing different social ventures operating in the Silesia region. The study demonstrates ten variables as contributing to the success of the social enterprises: (1) strong leadership; (2) motivation and commitment of employed people; (3) enabling legal/regulatory environment; (4) attractiveness and clarity of innovative concept; (5) management expertise; (6) key personal qualities for front line service delivery; (7) effective collaboration with public sector; (8) social capital; (9) local community involvement; and (10) keeping and distributing accurate financial records.