Governments across Europe increasingly encourage citizens and communities to take an active role in addressing societal challenges. Social enterprises — organizations that combine economic activity with a social mission — are often seen as key players in this shift. They are widely regarded as promising agents of social innovation, capable of building more inclusive and sustainable societies.
Yet public administrations often struggle with how to relate to social enterprises. The concept itself is contested, and the field is diverse in form and function. What unites social enterprises is their hybrid character: they operate at the intersection of state, market and civil society. This hybridity is both a strength — fostering synergy and innovation — and a weakness, as it can lead to ambiguity and institutional friction.
My research focuses on how social enterprises interact with public administration, and how governments can create enabling ecosystems that support their social mission while recognising the challenges of hybridity. I am especially interested in how hybrid organizations can contribute to addressing wicked problems in governance and public policy.
I am currently part of WISESHIFT, a Horizon Europe project exploring how Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) can drive inclusive and sustainable transitions across Europe:
Previously, I was a management committee member of EMPOWER-SE and contributed to the ICSEM-project, publishing comparative work on social enterprises in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany (Social Enterprise in Western Europe, Routledge, 2021). As a consultant, I have advised the European Commission and the OECD on these topics.
Social enterprise and social innovation are also core themes in my teaching at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
→ See below for a short video on my research and a selection of recent publications.
Publications on Social enterprise & social innovation (selected)
Karré, P. M. (2025). The challenges of hybridity for policy making: Insights from the case of social enterprise policy in the Netherlands. In J. Vakkuri, J.-E. Johanson, R. M. Pinheiro, & T. Erkkilä (Eds.), Public policies for hybrid governance (pp. 59–77). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035311637.00015
Karré, P.M. (2024). Social enterprises and public organizations: allies of adversaries? Introduction to special issue, International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 37 No. 3, pp. 305-316. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-04-2024-356
Karré, P.M. & Van Meerkerk, I. (2023). The Challenge of Navigating the Double Hybridity in the Relationship between Community Enterprises and Municipalities, Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 10.1080/19420676.2023.2263772
Fenger, H.J.M, Karré, P.M. & Blok, S.N. (2023). Conceptualizing new forms of volunteering in urban governance, Urban Governance, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ugj.2023.09.002.
Karré, P.M. (2021). Social Enterprise in the Netherlands: Between Hope and Hype. In J. Defourny & M. Nyssens (eds.). Social Enterprise in Western Europe: Theory, Models and Practice (pp. 149-165). New York and London, Routledge.
Karré, P.M. (2021). Social Enterprise in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands: Where the Old Meets the New. In J. Defourny & M. Nyssens (eds.). Social Enterprise in Western Europe: Theory, Models and Practice (pp. 288-300). New York and London, Routledge.
OECD (2021). Boosting social entrepreneurship and social enterprise development in Brandenburg, Germany: In-depth policy review. OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papers, No. 2021/03, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b2e6825f-en.
Karré, P.M. (2018). Navigating between opportunities and risks. The effects of hybridity for social enterprises engaged in social innovation. Journal of Entrepreneurial and Organizational Diversity (JEOD), 7(1), pp. 37-60.
Puerari, E., J. de Koning, T. von Wirth, P.M. Karré, I.J. Mulder & D.A. Loorbach (2018). Co-Creation Dynamics in Urban Living Labs. Sustainability, 10(6), pp. 1-18.
Karré, P.M. (2017). Drie misverstanden over sociale innovatie. Journal of Social Intervention: Theory and Practice, 26(2), pp.76–82.
Walraven, G., S. van der Pas, I. de Vries & P.M. Karré (eds.) (2020). Sociaal ondernemen. Innovatie en ondernemerschap in het sociaal domein. Amsterdam: Boom.
Karré, P.M., H. Dagevos & G. Walraven (eds.) (2018). Sociale innovatie in de praktijk. Zoeken naar nieuwe antwoorden op maatschappelijke vraagstukken. Assen: Van Gorcum.
Karré, P.M. & I.F. van Meerkerk (2019). Samen werken aan de wijk. Een bestuurskundige reflectie op de relatie tussen wijkcoöperaties en gemeente in Rotterdam. Rotterdam: Kenniswerkplaats Leefbare Wijken.
Karré, P.M. & T. ‘S Jongers (2018). Zorgcoöperaties in Rotterdam en Den Haag. Verslag van een verkennend onderzoek. Rotterdam: Lectoraat Dynamiek van de Stad, Hogeschool Inholland.
Karré, P.M.(2018). Sociaal ondernemers moeten het zelf doen. In: Economische Verkenning Rotterdam 2018 (pp. 58-59). Rotterdam: Gemeente Rotterdam.
Karré, P.M. & V. Mossel (2017). Sociaal én ondernemend. Een essay over de kansen en risico’s van hybriditeit voor sociale ondernemingen. Rotterdam: Lectoraat Dynamiek van de Stad, Hogeschool Inholland.
Steen, M.A. van der, P.M. Karré & M.J.W. van Twist (2011). When Citizens Take Matters Into Their Own Hands: How Privately Managed Communities Challenge Government. Public Integrity. 13(4), 319-331.
Twist, M.J.W. van, M.A. van der Steen & P.M. Karré (2009). Als burgers het heft in eigen handen nemen – Van representatieve naar doe-het-zelf democratie. Res Publica, 4, 521-536.