This paper considers the longstanding problem of how to define and classify social enterprise, given the great variety of social enterprise activities, organisational types, legal forms, and policy objectives. It proposes a typology of social enterprises, based on six social enterprise historical ‘traditions’, each representing a distinct purpose.
The paper identifies and considers, for each of the ‘traditions’, its basis, central values, primary beneficiaries, potential legal or organisational form(s), and primary income source(s).
It further describes how respondents to a questionnaire survey of social enterprises were classified according to the typology, and then applies the classification to assist in explaining the nature of and potential for social enterprise development.