Rethinking how social enterprises develop and create impact: a collaboration with IKEA Social Entrepreneurship
How do social enterprises develop and create lasting impact? A new study by Maastricht University School of Business and Economics (SBE), in collaboration with IKEA Social Entrepreneurship B.V., challenges the idea that social enterprises should follow a linear path from start-up to growth and scale.
The report, Contextualising the Entrepreneurial Journeys of Social Enterprises in Latin America, was launched in Rome during the 8th Social Entrepreneurship Summit (SES2026) at Università LUMSA. It draws on the experiences of nine social enterprises across Mexico, Colombia and Chile.
Over the past two years, SBE researchers Sergio Páramo, Abel Díaz and Juliette Koning have explored how these organisations navigate changing market conditions, relationships with communities and partners, institutional barriers and other contextual factors while pursuing their social missions.
Understanding the journey beyond growth
The findings show that the development of social enterprises is rarely a straightforward journey. Instead, organisations continuously adapt to their circumstances, balancing growth with considerations such as community ownership, governance, resilience and social impact.
The researchers identified five different entrepreneurial journeys. These range from growing while protecting local ownership and identity to bridging traditional practices with modern markets, and recognising when stability may be more important than further growth. Bringing these experiences together, the researchers developed a practical framework that reflects a reality familiar to many social entrepreneurs: progress rarely follows a straight path.
“A journey is the sum of two parts: process plus context. Social enterprises are not simply moving through stages. They are navigating journeys,” says Sergio Páramo.
The research also raises questions about how social enterprises are supported. Rather than focusing primarily on acceleration and scale, support systems may need to give organisations more room to adapt, build relationships and strengthen their organisational capacity.
As Jens Andersson, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Specialist at IKEA Social Entrepreneurship, explains: “It’s so embedded in our minds that we’re supporting scaling. But some enterprises may need stability, stronger governance or deeper community relationships before acceleration becomes the right approach.”
A collaboration between research and practice
The study is the result of a collaboration between Maastricht University SBE and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship spanning more than two years. The project brought together academic research with the practical experience of IKEA Social Entrepreneurship and its regional partners.
The researchers worked closely with social enterprises in Latin America to understand how context shapes their everyday decisions and development. Their insights offer new perspectives for funders, accelerators and other organisations supporting social enterprises.
Read more about the collaboration and the findings in the IKEA Social Entrepreneurship press release.