Digital Platforms and the Growth of Social Entrepreneurship

Abstract

Digital platforms have become important organizational infrastructures for social enterprises because they connect dispersed beneficiaries, donors, customers, volunteers, suppliers, and public institutions at comparatively low coordination cost. This conceptual article examines how platform capabilities contribute to the creation, delivery, and scaling of social value. Drawing on scholarship published in 2021, it argues that platform-enabled growth does not result from technology adoption alone. Growth emerges when social entrepreneurs combine digital reach with mission-aligned governance, credible impact communication, inclusive access, responsible data practices, and a financially coherent business model. The analysis identifies nine interconnected domains: the development of platform-based social entrepreneurship, access to markets and resources, community and network effects, crowd funding and digital finance, innovation and scalable service delivery, data-driven impact measurement, institutional ecosystems, ethical risks and digital exclusion, and strategic directions for sustainable growth. Across these domains, platforms can reduce search and transaction costs, enable rapid experimentation, strengthen stakeholder participation, and make social outcomes more visible. However, dependence on privately governed infrastructures can also expose ventures to algorithmic opacity, unequal visibility, data exploitation, cyber security threats, and sudden rule changes. The article therefore advances a balanced framework in which digital platforms are treated as socio-technical institutions rather than neutral communication channels.