Exploring Public Value Creation through Social Entrepreneurship: A Business Model Perspective in Public Sporting Services

Recognized as a key strategic enabler for achieving public value (PV) objectives, social entrepreneurship (SE) has become an integral part of contemporary public management, particularly through the provision of public services.

However, its concrete contribution to public value generation remains largely underexplored. This study investigates PV-oriented entrepreneurial processes in the delivery of public sporting services through an exploratory multiple case study, taking SE business models as units of analysis. Preliminary findings highlight often informal and intangible forms of value that are closely linked to organizational configurations and strategic choices. They also suggest that such value can be substantial but is highly context-, sector-, and user-dependent, raising concerns about its transferability and scalability. These insights shed light on the role of SE in public management, contribute to the conceptual understanding of public value, and offer practical implications for designing and developing business models aimed at fostering its creation—while also exposing their strengths, limitations, and ambiguities.