The Role of Community Engagement and Entrepreneurship in the Sustainability Performance of Social Ventures in South Korea

Abstract

Social ventures, hybrid enterprises pursuing for-profit business and mission-driven nonprofit goals, have rapidly grown in South Korea owing to local governments’ proactive policies and support. Despite extensive government support, community-based social ventures often fail to sustain themselves due to lacking experience, strategies, and social networks. Informed by stakeholder theory, this study investigates the relationships between social venture strategies and the core dimensions of government-funded, community-based social enterprises’ sustainability performance (economic, human resources management, and social performance). We circulated our online survey among the employees of community-based social start-ups funded by local governments in South Korea. In total, 210 participants completed the survey. The results of structural equation modelling demonstrated that venture entrepreneurship and community engagement are positively associated with all dimensions of sustainability performance, subsequently improving work satisfaction. As community-based social ventures involve diverse stakeholders, organizational members should negotiate complementary or competing values in a holistic picture of all involved parties (e.g., funders, employees, and residents) to pursue sustainability efforts.