Social Enterprises as an Embodiment of a Neoliberal Welfare Logic

Abstract

We explore the rise of social enterprises, particularly, work integration social enterprises (WISEs), their particular hybrid organizational form, and their impact on their clients. We propose that WISEs are an expression of a neoliberal welfare logic that challenges social rights by emphasizing market solutions to social needs and by devolving and privatizing social services to the local level and the private sector. We show that as a hybrid organizational form, WISEs must balance between two conflicting institutional logics: market and social services. Our research demonstrates that when the WISEs are dominated by a market logic, they commodify their clients as production workers. We suggest that WISEs, as a hybrid organizational form, contribute to the neoliberal project of blurring the boundaries between the market and the welfare state.