Moving beyond the dual perspective: toward a multilevel understanding of work integration social enterprises in the intellectual disability sector

Purpose This study aims to examine how institutional complexity is reflected in the literature on work integration social enterprises in the intellectual disability sector (WISEs-ID). This study synthesizes research on institutional conditions, organizational orientations and practices, and outcomes and employment experiences for people with intellectual disabilities (PWID). Design/methodology/approach Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews, this scoping review analyzes 17 articles published between 2007 and 2026 using theory-informed qualitative content analysis. Findings The review finds that literature on WISEs-ID mainly addresses employment outcomes and experiences of PWID, while organizational practices and institutional conditions receive less systematic attention. By synthesizing studies on business and financing, work design, support practices and employment experiences, the review shows that productive work emerges as a connecting point between support and financial viability, linking meaningful work for PWID to value creation and organizational sustainability. Research limitations/implications The study proposes a multilevel framework linking institutional conditions, organizational orientations and practices and outcomes and employment experiences of PWID. It identifies gaps in the theorization of institutional complexity and in comparative research across contexts and target groups and develops a future research agenda to address them. Practical implications The framework helps practitioners reflect on how support, productive work and financial viability are organized through business and financing, work design and support and evaluation practices. This framework also highlights the need for policies giving WISEs-ID sufficient flexibility to provide meaningful and sustainable employment. Originality/value The study responds to calls in social enterprise research to move beyond social–commercial duality by offering a multilevel framework that unpacks this duality in WISEs-ID and understands these organizations as institutionally complex and embedded.