Blended value co-creation: A qualitative investigation of relationship designs of social enterprises

•Social perspective enriches the theoretical concept of the relational view.•Unravelling “blended value” and “blended value co-creation” of social enterprises.•Insights on how social enterprises create blended value through partnerships.•Analyses reveal two distinct approaches in social enterprises’ relationship designs.•Anthropocentric extroverted or structurally integrated approaches to value creation. Social enterprises access large networks of stakeholders to gain strategic benefits. We identify determinants for creating blended value through partnerships of social enterprises and develop an understanding of blended value co-creation. Findings from 18 cases suggest that most social enterprises generate value by integrating partners in the businesses’ structures or by venturing into deeper personal connections through extensive knowledge-sharing that can culminate in partner-specific assets. Social enterprises take two distinct approaches in designing their relationships: an anthropocentric extroverted or a structurally integrated approach. By adding a social perspective on value creation, this study enriches the concept of the relational view.