Social enterprises are a recent phenomenon of the social economy and arguably a new form of organization. Theories, concepts and organizational variables that were applied in classifying these entities are examined to identify possible gaps for further analysis and therefore broadening the understanding of the organizational form. Major findings were: (1) a paucity in available classification frameworks for social enterprises; (2) the variable of strategy has been given very limited attention.Drawing on Freemans (1984) typology of generic enterprise strategies, four enterprise strategies are proposed which are unique to social enterprises. These strategies provide a best fit among stakeholders, values and social issues, and form the basis of the new typology. This research contributes to the body of literature on social enterprises by providing some insights into their emergence and evolution, the diversity of definitions, a summary of their key features, and a new preliminary framework for their classification.