Paweł Mikołajczak

Department of Money and Banking,

Poznań University of Economics and Business,

Poznań, Poland

E-mail: pawel.mikolajczak@ue.poznan.pl

ORCID 0000-0002-7662-2565 

Organizational drivers of the degree of commercialization of social enterprises: Evidence from Polish social enterprises

Robert Skikiewicz

Department of Market Research and Services,

Poznań University of Economics and Business,

Poznań, Poland

E-mail: robert.skikiewicz@ue.poznan.pl

ORCID 0000-0003-3099-7350

Abstract. One of the main assumptions of nonprofit commercialization is that nonprofits are increasingly adopting business strategies. study investigates the organizational factors determining the degree of commercialization of social enterprises, drawing on institutional and contingency theories. Empirical data were obtained from a representative survey of 585 social enterprises in Poland. A descriptive analysis was conducted, and the relationships were assessed. Social enterprises in Poland display substantial differences in their degree of commercialization. Organizational characteristics influencing the degree of commercialization include legal form, total revenue, year of establishment, and the extent of online activities. By discussing the organizational drivers of commercialization in social enterprises, this study contributes to the scholarly debate and makes its findings transferable to the social enterprise sector in other CEE countries. Exploring the organizational characteristics that shape the degree of commercialization in social enterprises provides a better understanding of the factors that drive them towards becoming more business-like.

Received: August, 2025

1st Revision: February, 2026

Accepted: June, 2026

DOI: 10.14254/2071-789X.2026/19-2/10

JEL Classification: L31

Keywords: degree of commercialization, social enterprises, Central and Eastern European Countries, determinants, NGO, institutional theory