This study seeks to explore the question of what role the enterprise-beneficiary relationship plays in social value creation and performance measurement practices within social enterprises. This question is explored in two phases. The first utilizes a portfolio of 101 enterprises to develop a typology of social enterprise based on this relationship. The second utilizes a comparative case study methodology to examine six social enterprises working in the area of economic development, poverty alleviation and job preparedness, two for each of the enterprise-beneficiary relationships identified.