<p>Struggling nonprofit organisations (NPOs) can address their need for sustainability and financial independence by becoming social enterprises. Research into the process of organisational transformation for NPOs on the journey to becoming a social enterprise is scarce, with no clear roadmap. We developed a theoretical framework for this process through a structured literature review on the theory of social enterprises, organisational transformation, and learning capability. We found that organisational transformation often happens in two phases, exploitation and exploration, which correlate with understanding first- and second-order learning. Organisational transformation is also cyclical and includes the transformation actions of envisioning, planning, experimentation, and reflection. For long-term efficacy, the changes that are made need to be institutionalised. The organisational elements affected by this process are the mission, hybrid typology, revenue strategy and operations strategy. Lastly, we found that multiple factors enable organisational transformation, but the learning capability, particularly, fuels value creation and can, therefore, be a facilitator of change. The next step in our research will be to test the theoretical framework through expert interviews and case studies. An organisational transformation framework is essential to guide further empirical research.</p>