Canadian Social Enterprises: An Empirical Exploration of Social Transformation, Financial Self-Sufficiency, and Innovation

Abstract

This article reports on empirical research investigating social transformation, financial self-sufficiency, and innovation in Canadian social enterprises. A set of profiles on 60 randomly selected social enterprises utilizing information from each organization's Web site was developed and analyzed. The profiles show that about one-third of the sample enterprises were deemed high in social transformation, approximately one-half were assessed high in financial self-sufficiency, and fewer that one-fifth were found to be highly innovative. Implications for marketing in social enterprises are drawn.