Social Entrepreneurship in Nonprofit Organizations: An Empirical Investigation of the Synergy Between Social and Business Objectives

Social entrepreneurship in nonprofit organizations has emerged as an increasingly important domain, both in academic research and in practice. This article attempts to further enhance our understanding of the management of nonprofit organizations by investigating the way they balance social and business objectives. Over 200 senior managers of nonprofit organizations participated in our structured telephone interview. The data revealed that many organizations worried about the potential for reduced or lost funding, especially during economic hard times. Issues of sustainability usually headed their list of concerns. Many of these organizations sought to establish revenue generating business streams to offset expected funding shortfalls. The data suggested that over 70% of the nonprofit organizations we interviewed resided in the social entrepreneurship zone. Our results also showed that maintaining a social objective and managing a viable business can be complementary and mutually beneficial activities.