Innovation to Endure as a Catalyst: Fueling Social Enterprise Success for Long-term Business Sustainability

Abstract

Social enterprises are gaining increased attention from both scholars and practitioners due to their unique ability to pursue profit alongside their social missions. However, maintaining a balance between these two objectives requires innovation for sustainability. This entails employing various forms of innovation, such as open innovation, eco-innovation, green innovation, and social innovation (SI), to address potential conflicts between financial and social priorities. This study aims to investigate the innovation practices for sustainability adopted by social enterprises and understand how these innovation capabilities operate within organizations. The data were collected from 97 for-profit social enterprises in Coimbatore city using a purposive sampling method. Utilizing the partial least squares approach for data analysis, the research findings underscore the crucial role of SI in achieving business sustainability. Additionally, the study confirms the significant impact of eco-innovation on business sustainability. These results emphasize the significance of innovation capabilities in enabling social entrepreneurs to sustain their businesses and enhance their competitive edge, thereby benefiting policymakers, business support organizations, and aspiring social entrepreneurs. This study contributes to the existing literature by offering empirical insights into sustainability innovation within the context of social enterprises, an area that has received limited attention in previous studies.