The operational modes and impacts of healthcare social enterprises: observations from the case of Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan

This qualitative paper identifies the different modes of healthcare social enterprises (SEs) and provides in-context evidence in understanding the SEs operational models. The case studies on healthcare SEs in Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan indicate three possible modes of healthcare SEs: Mode-I – grassroots community-based, Mode-II – research spin-off-based ventures, and Mode-III – investment-based businesses. By showing that healthcare SEs are not uniform and operate in several variants, the main findings of this paper are critical to advancing the field of SEs in healthcare by deliberating the targeted framework and policy insights to capitalize on the dynamics of healthcare SEs for inclusive health.