Social entrepreneurship is not just an objective description of a phenomenon; it also carries a positive normative connotation. However, the academic discourse barely reflects social entrepreneurship's inherent normativity and often grounds it implicitly on the mission of a social enterprise. In this paper, we argue critically that it is insufficient to ground social entrepreneurship's inherent normativity on a social mission. Instead, we will show how such a mission-centric conception of social entrepreneurship, when put into practice, is prone to enhance rather than diminish societal grievances. In order to give social entrepreneurship an explicit and sound ethical grounding, we draw on integrative economic ethics as a frame of reference. From this perspective, social entrepreneurship necessitates adherence to the discourse-ethically reasoned moral principle in order to live up to its inherent normative validity claim of good entrepreneurship. The consideration of social entrepreneurship practices is crucial to make this approach less vulnerable to ethical critique. The addition of a practice dimension overcomes the mission-centric view of social entrepreneurship and opens up a typology of enterprise forms, thereby enabling a more fine-grained distinction between social enterprises and other forms of organization.

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Social Entrepreneurship, im weitesten Sinne als Unternehmertum für das Gemeinwohl zu übersetzen, gewinnt wissenschaftlich sowie gesellschaftlich an Relevanz. Während die Management- und Organisationsforschung sich mehr und mehr diesem Phänomen zuwendet, entwickelt sich in Deutschland eine vielfältige Szene von Gründer*innen, die sich am Gemeinwohl orientiert. Dieser Beitrag ordnet Social Entrepreneurship ein und geht auf eine praktische Herausforderung dieser „hybriden Organisation“ ein: das Management von Spannungsverhältnissen.

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