Successful social enterprises develop innovative context‐specific solutions to social problems in resource‐constrained environments. To achieve this, they harness knowledge resources beyond their organizational boundaries to learn. Yet, there is limited understanding of the role boundaries play in learning. This paper investigates organizational learning in social enterprises from a boundary perspective. It studies the emergence and role of implicit boundaries in learning, critical learning mechanisms, and key agents involved. Following qualitative methodology, data were collected from four Indian social enterprises. Data structures were developed using analytical methods inspired from grounded theory leading to themes and theoretical inferences. Two implicit and dynamic boundaries—competence and social—were identified, which in isolation and through mutual interactions impacted learning. Their movement vis‐à‐vis the structural boundary of the enterprises was traced. Initially mutually exclusive, the two boundaries extended inwards into the enterprises from the external environment, and then moved downwards or upwards over time. Their sustained overlaps and interactions facilitated learning, with middle managers often playing a critical integration role. Specific boundary configurations, learning modes, and critical agents enabling learning are described. This study directs research on learning in social enterprises to specific boundary interactions. It highlights the significance of implicit boundaries, their multiplicity, and dynamism. It directs social enterprises to explicitly recognize the notion of boundaries, and develop competences and processes to manage them for effective learning.

中文翻译：

---

理解和管理社会企业中的学习：隐性组织边界的作用

成功的社会企业会在资源受限的环境中针对社会问题开发创新的针对特定环境的解决方案。为此，他们利用组织范围之外的知识资源进行学习。然而，人们对边界在学习中所扮演的角色的了解有限。本文从边界的角度研究了社会企业的组织学习。它研究了隐性边界在学习，关键学习机制和所涉及的关键主体中的出现和作用。按照定性方法，从四个印度社会企业收集了数据。数据结构是使用从扎根理论启发而来的分析方法开发而来的，这些方法导致主题和理论推论。两种隐性和动态边界-能力和社会的-被识别出来，这孤立地并通过相互的相互作用影响了学习。跟踪了它们相对于企业结构边界的移动。最初是相互排斥的，这两个边界从外部环境向内延伸到企业中，然后随着时间的推移向下或向上移动。他们之间的持续重叠和互动促进了学习，中层管理人员通常扮演着至关重要的整合角色。描述了特定的边界配置，学习模式和实现学习的关键代理。本研究将社会企业学习的研究导向特定的边界相互作用。它强调了隐式边界，其多重性和活力的重要性。它指示社会企业明确认识边界的概念，