Social entrepreneurship is recognised for its ability to transform the lives of underserved population (Dees, 1998; Williams & Shepherd, 2016; Seelos & Mair, 2005). Social entrepreneurs work for creating a sustainable society by social and economic value creation (Hlady-Rispal & Servantie, 2018; Ziegler, Schulz et al., 2014, Singh & Reji, 2020). On leveraging innovation, entrepreneurship and technology they establish mission-centric social enterprises for creating employment opportunities, and providing access to education, health care, natural resource conservation fostering both individual and societal self-reliance (Alvord et al., 2004; Williams & Shepherd, 2016., Guha & Majumdar, 2021). Policymakers, business leaders, and practitioners increasingly embrace social entrepreneurship as a transformative force for generating social and economic value while ensuring sustainable impact (Calo, Teasdale et al., 2018; Chandra, 2017; Cherrier, Goswami, & Ray, 2018. Singh & Reji 2020).

As an academic discipline, social entrepreneurship attracts interest of scholars from diverse fields, including social sciences, entrepreneurship, business management, economics, sociology, anthropology, public policy, and legal studies (Dwivedi & Weerawardena, 2018; Hota, Subramanian & Narayanamurthy, 2019). Scholars continue to expand the understanding of various aspects of this field (Mair et al., 2016; Seelos et al., 2011; Stephan et al., 2016). As a relatively emerging domain, research primarily focuses on establishing conceptual foundations, entrepreneurial characteristics, social innovation, process of value creation, business models, outcomes and impacts (Reji & Majumdar 2024., Guha & Majumdar, 2021., Gupta et al., 2020., Singh, 2016., Majumdar & Reji, 2018).

The social enterprise landscape is continuously evolving both in developed and emerging markets (Lortie & Cox, 2018; Mair & Schoen, 2007) spearheading innovative solutions to address social and environmental challenges (Zahra & Wright, 2016; Stephan, Patterson et al., 2016). Driven by their mission of creating social value, social enterprises empower individuals and communities by strengthening capacities, enhancing participation in markets, and providing essential resources such as credit and information (Santos, 2012; Mair et al., 2012) creating economic opportunities for the disadvantaged while advancing sustainable development (Mair, Wolf & Seelos, 2016; Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004., Singh & Reji 2022).

Advocacy is prevalent among social enterprise organisations. They represent disadvantaged, vulnerable and excluded populations and establish the link between these groups and government agencies (Salamon & Geller, 2008; Strolovitch, 2006). Policy advocacy is defined as ‘trying to influence public policy or regulation’ (Mosley et al., 2023, p. 194). Nichols(2006) argues that social entrepreneurs need to engage with policy makers for creating a conducive environment for their work and this engagement involves building relations with decision-makers in government, engagement in various stages of policy process and influence policy changes that bring systemic changes in the society. In a recent study, Mair and Rathert (2024) reports that out of 776 sample social enterprises included in their study, 76% involved in socio-cultural advocacy and 68% in policy advocacy. Scholars submit that engagement in advocacy might help social enterprises in creating awareness about the social problems or reach out connection with public authorities in decision-making (Suarez and Hwang, 2007) and also in establishing legitimacy of social enterprises and its initiatives (Grohs et al., 2017).

Literature distinguishes two distinct forms of advocacy engagement by social enterprises: sociocultural advocacy and policy advocacy (Mair and Rathert, 2024., Mosley et al. 2023 ). While the first is largely deals with problem-centric micro-level initiatives for bringing behavioural changes in the communities, the second approach involves working with the government or political decision-makers for bringing large scale social change through policy advocacies (Mosley et al. 2023). Policy advocacy focuses on attempts to change policies or influence the decisions of government and state institutions through enhancement of civic participation, in order to promote a collective goal or interest (Berry,2001., Warren, 2001).

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