Abstract
Over the past decade, social entrepreneurship has gained immense attention to address complex social challenges, but this field remains conceptually fragmented and methodologically diverse. Despite a growing body of literature, this field lacks an understanding of how research on social entrepreneurship is structured across theoretical, conceptual and methodological dimensions. Therefore, current study conducts a comprehensive literature review using a structured synthesis approach. Ultimately, 31 relevant articles were selected during the review process, indexed in Scopus and Web of Science to ensure the quality and impact of the study. Through meticulous review, our research identifies key patterns in theoretical foundation, methodological practices and conceptualization, revealing inconsistencies and fragmentation in the literature. The finding also indicates limited use of the mixed method approach in studies and lack of specific context as most studies used general prospective and very few used a government or NGO context. Additionally, limited application of the theories, variation in research design and the absence of standardized framework were notice that inhibits theoretical integration. This study focuses on theoretical integration, methodological diversity and highlights the importance of context-based quantitative meta-analytical studies for empirical generalizability. Overall, current review contributes to the existing body of literature by identifying critical gap, synthesizing research trends and proposing future direction for methodological rigor and theoretical development of social entrepreneurship.
Keywords: Fragmentation, PRISMA Guidelines, Social Entrepreneurship, Systematic Review.