Social Enterprise: An Organization For Us

Lecture in Korean

Image taken by speaker

Mugoan Jeong Professor, Kyungnam University

Thursday, May 29, 2025
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

10383 Bunche Hall (10th floor)

Generally, Business Administration (BA) is understood as the study of companies that aim to maximize shareholder profit. However, what BA truly seeks is to help organizations, which are formed to achieve specific goals, accomplish those goals more effectively and efficiently. Therefore, the scope of BA includes all types of organizations, from profit companies improving financial interest to non-profit organizations pursuing the public good. However, it is true that research of BA has largely focused on profit maximization from the perspective of shareholders or stakeholders. In response to this, BA has recently begun to divert more attention to efforts aimed at improving public contribution rather than just profit, with Social Enterprises (SE) being a representative subject of study.
SE refers to a company/organization that primarily pursues social goals while engaging in business activities such as the production or sale of goods/services. In other words, SE is an organization with the purpose of social contribution while generating profit to ensure its sustainability. Because SE is formed by residents to directly address their key social issues, involving community or resident participation is absolutely essential. Unfortunately, although SE should be highly active in the United States, where voluntary community participation is vibrant, the reality is quite the opposite. Through this presentation, Professor Jeong will introduce the meaning and importance of SE and contribute to the active promotion of SE in the United States.

Sponsor(s): Center for Korean Studies