From Social Worker to Social Entrepreneur: A Multiple Case Study of Enterprise Founding Processes

(1) Background and Purpose
Social enterprises have emerged worldwide as innovative vehicles to address complex social problems and foster the inclusion of marginalized populations. Social workers, traditionally engaged in vocational training, rehabilitation, and social support, are increasingly extending their practice by founding social enterprises. However, existing research has largely emphasized institutional outcomes or client-level impacts, with limited focus on the entrepreneurial experiences of social workers themselves. This study explores how social workers conceive, develop, and sustain social enterprises, examining the ways in which they build and enact social entrepreneurship within professional practice.

(2) Methods
A qualitative multiple case study design was employed to investigate the lived experiences of social workers who established social enterprises in South Korea. Ten participants were recruited through criteria sampling, snowball sampling, and open calls. Each had prior professional experience in social work and had operated a social enterprise for at least one year. Data were collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews conducted via Zoom between August and September 2025, lasting about 60 minutes each. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed through iterative thematic analysis.

(3) Results
The participants (7 men, 3 women; mean age = 46.2) had prior experience across diverse social welfare sectors, including services for persons with disabilities, youth, and community welfare. Their enterprises were founded between 2008 and 2021 and represented varied organizational forms: for-profit companies (n = 6), social cooperatives (n = 3), and nonprofits (n = 1). The founding processes revealed seven major categories encompassing 23 subthemes: (1) recognition of unmet needs and structural constraints within existing welfare systems; (2) opportunity identification through policy initiatives, government programs, and global cases; (3) development of mission-driven business models and resource mobilization through professional networks; (4) challenges such as financial instability, limited managerial capacity, and negative market perceptions; (5) adaptive responses including certification, resource diversification, and ongoing learning; (6) expansion of social impact and occasional contributions to policy or institutional reform; and (7) integration of social worker and entrepreneurial identities through collective commitment and collaborative problem-solving.

(4) Conclusions and Implications
The entrepreneurial journeys of social workers illustrate a practice-based innovation that extends social work beyond traditional service provision. Their experiences underscore how relational collaboration, field-based expertise, and professional values shape social entrepreneurship. Conceptually, this study reframes social workers’ enterprise formation as a dynamic process that integrates professional identity with entrepreneurial agency. Practically, the findings suggest incorporating entrepreneurship, management, and innovation into social work education to prepare practitioners for evolving roles in socially driven enterprise development.