An Exploratory Study on the Effects of Social Entrepreneurship and Collaborative Network Orientation on the Performance of Social Economy Organizations

Social economy organizations, which thrive on cooperation and solidarity, use social entrepreneurship and collaborative networks to achieve social goals and ensure sustainability. This study examines how the social entrepreneurship and collaborative network orientation (CNO) of top management teams in social economy organizations influence organizational performance. CNO encompasses a preference for creating networks that include employees, shareholders, customers, business partners, and community members in a collaborative relationship. Gathering 111 valid samples from top management teams in social economy organizations in South Korea, the analysis reveals that CNO fully mediates the relationship between social entrepreneurship and organizational performance, with social entrepreneurship significantly impacting performance only through CNO.