Diversity and the Influence of Social Enterprises in South Korea

Jongmin Jeon, Jinhee Choi () and Ivan Ureta Vaquero
Additional contact information
Jongmin Jeon: Seoul Business School, aSSIST University, Seoul 03767, Republic of Korea
Jinhee Choi: Seoul Business School, aSSIST University, Seoul 03767, Republic of Korea
Ivan Ureta Vaquero: Senior Lecturer and Head of Executive Education, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, 6928 Manno, Switzerland

Administrative Sciences, 2024, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-17

Abstract: This study aimed to examine the growth of social enterprises, their operational diversity and impact, and their characteristics from the stakeholders’ perspective focusing on the diversity and influence of social enterprises in the Republic of Korea. Based on data from periodical reports, newspaper articles, and the existing academic literature, this study provides insights into the diversity and influence of social enterprises in Korea. This study suggests that the growth of Korean social enterprises is rooted in extensive government support, including financial subsidies, tax benefits, and technological innovation incentives. We found that the landscape includes officially recognized social enterprises and other entities that, while not formally certified, fulfill similar roles by embodying social values within diverse institutional frameworks. These enterprises have diversified to engage various social issues, from job creation for marginalized groups to environmental sustainability and community development. Effective stakeholder engagement fostered diversity and inclusiveness within these organizations. A limitation of this study is the use of secondary sources. Future research should use more diverse data collection methods and examine a broader range of social enterprises, including non-certified ones. This study contributes to the discourse on social enterprise by highlighting the trajectory of social enterprise development, the critical role of government support, and the importance of stakeholder engagement to promote diversity. It also provides insights into the diversity and role of social enterprises in Korea and their potential to address socio-economic issues.

Keywords: social enterprise; diversity; influence; government policy; stakeholder (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L M M0 M1 M10 M11 M12 M14 M15 M16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/14/12/329/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/14/12/329/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:14:y:2024:i:12:p:329-:d:1537051

Access Statistics for this article

Administrative Sciences is currently edited by Ms. Nancy Ma

More articles in Administrative Sciences from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().