SEDA/SEDA301/The Diverse Nature of Social Enterprise/Social enterprise hybridity
Revision: key concepts of social entrepreneurship
In the last Learning Pathway we covered quite a lot of theoretical content about social entrepreneurship, social innovation and social enterprise. Now that you have had some time to process this information, it is time for some reflection.
{{IDevice |theme= Line |type= Web resources |title=Social enterprise as hybrid organisations |body= In this Learning Pathway, we will be further drilling into one aspect of social entrepreneurship and social enterprise identified in the last Learning Pathway - the hybrid nature which falls at the core of their goals and activities. There is a growing focus within academia upon what it truly means to be a hybrid organisation, and what this may look like at an organisational level. It is recognised that the combination of two, often very conflicting value systems, can create many challenges for individuals and organisations. Some even consider the combination of two different institutional logics (or value systems that guide action) is in itself innovative.
Social enterprises have been referred to as the ideal type of hybrid organisation. In order to be sustainable, social enterprises must incorporate and balance contradictory organisational structures, cultures, practices, processes, goals and objectives associated with a traditional non-profit and for-profit organisational forms. As you can imagine, this at times can be very challenging. We cover these issues in greater depth in Lecture 3.
Lecture 3 - Slides: Managing multiple missions and hybridity
Readings:
Battilana, J., Lee, M., Walker, J. and Dorsey, C., 2012. In search of the hybrid ideal. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 10(3), pp.50-55. See link: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/in_search_of_the_hybrid_ideal