The introduction part of the paper provides an overview of factors that will be of focus in the rest of the paper. The introduction categorically points out that the focus would be on social enterprises within the greater social economy and how the SEs can be effective tools of bringing about sustainable development. The literature review explores how the subjects of sustainable development, sustainability, urban regeneration, social economy and social enterprises has been explored by other scholars. This section is critical because it provides in-depth information of why social enterprising is of particular interest in the South Korean context. In addition, by examining the research that has so far been done with regard to the subject of study, it becomes possible to get a widened perception that is useful in guiding the research and later on the readers of the paper. The part on theoretical considerations essentially helps in understanding the interrelationship of the various terminologies that are focused on in the paper by placing them in the wider context of a social economy.

The three parts, that is the introduction, literature review and theoretical consideration, link to the empirical part in that the latter seeks to substantiate theories, or postulations made within the three parts. The empirical part mainly aims at testing the theory already mentioned in the three parts by approaching the study subject from diverse angles. By doing so, the research is able to examine factors such as how people from the case study first understand social enterprises in the context of their own society.