The term citizen enterprise started to be used in the USA in 2008 to describe businesses that practice corporate social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model...

 (CSR).

In some countries, such as Papua New Guinea, the term is used to describe companies owned by citizens of that country, rather than by foreigners.

It should not be confused with social enterprise

Social enterprise

A social enterprise is an organization that applies business strategies to achieving philanthropic goals. Social enterprises can be structured as a for-profit or non-profit....

, which is a more complex notion involving origin, ownership and participation as well as objectives, activities and the use of profits.