Background: Together, the state and business community have contributed to the development of society. However, from a global perspective there are still problems with, among others, poverty, injustice and environmental degradation. This has in turn contributed to the growth of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and, above all, both social enterprises and social entrepreneurs have become important players to counteract these trends. Objective: The overall purpose of this study was to map out the patterns that may prevail during the process of expansion within social enterprises. The study also sought to analyze the similarities and differences between the start and the maturation phases of such expansion. Finally, the study aimed to analyze whether expansion may be a strategy that can enable social enterprises to survive. Method: This study is based on a qualitative approach. Seven organizations were selected to participate in the study and the empirical data collection consisted of interviews and document analysis. The empirical data was analyzed using content analysis. Conclusion: The conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that all of the enterprises expanded in order to be able to pursue their social objectives. Furthermore, all of the enterprises reinvested their surpluses back into the enterprises. The patterns that could be mapped out during the expansion process were networking, needs analysis, strategy and planning, external help and innovation.

Den här studien undersöker om intressenter som verkar i det svenska ekosystemet för entreprenörskap upplever att det finns ett behov av insatser för att stötta sociala organisationers internationalisering – och om sa är fallet, vilket stöd som ska implementeras för att skapa maximalt värde. Nio semistrukturerade intervjuer med intressenter som representerar akademiska institutioner, myndigheter och stödorganisationer genomfördes. Resultaten visar att majoriteten av sociala entreprenörer som idag verkar i Sverige inte vill skala internationellt. Det framkommer också att de som skalar har ett tydligt tekniskt fokus och i första hand söker sig till övriga länder i Norden. Intressenterna upplevde vidare att det fanns ett behov av stödinsatser relaterat till internationalisering, i huvudsak kopplat till att stärka affärsmässigheten bland organisationerna. I diskussionen används en modell för skalbarhet samt den svenska regeringens strategi för sociala organisationer för att identifiera potentiella överlapp samt för att placera resultatet i en teoretisk kontext. Da fältet innefattar organisationer som verkar inom ett brett spektrum inkluderar rekommendationer för framtida forskning att identifiera stödinsatser som riktar sig mot mer nischade delar inom socialt entreprenörskap, samt att utvärdera hur offentliga organisationer kan bidra till att skapa ökad tillväxt. / This study is investigating if stakeholders in the Swedish ecosystem of entrepreneurship perceive that there is a need for initiatives supporting social organizations’ internationalization and if so – what support should be implemented to provide maximum value. Nine semi-structured interviews with stakeholders representing academic institutions, public agencies and support organizations were conducted. The result shows that the majority of social entrepreneurs currently operating in Sweden are not looking into scaling internationally and those who do often have a clear technology focus and target the Nordic countries. The stakeholders perceived that there was a need for support initiatives related to internationalization, mainly with regards to strengthening business-mindedness. In the final discussion, the results are mapped into a scalability framework and the strategy for social organizations developed by the Swedish government, to identify potential overlaps and place the findings in a theoretical context. As the field entails a wide variety of organizations, suggestions for future research includes identifying support initiatives targeting niches within social entrepreneurship, and assessing how public organizations can support further growth.

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