The Legitimacy of Social Entrepreneurship: Reflexive Isomorphism in a Pre–Paradigmatic Field:

doi:10.1111/J.1540-6520.2010.00397.X

Home
/
Papers
/
The Legitimacy of Social Entrepreneurship: Reflexive Isomorphism in a Pre–Paradigmatic Field:

Journal Article•DOI•

The Legitimacy of Social Entrepreneurship: Reflexive Isomorphism in a Pre–Paradigmatic Field:

Alex Nicholls¹•Institutions (1)

01 Jul 2010-Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice (SAGE PublicationsSage CA: Los Angeles, CA)-Vol. 34, Iss: 4, pp 611-633

TL;DR: This article conceptualized social entrepreneurship as a field of action in a pre-paradigmatic state that currently lacks an established epistemology, and used approaches from neo-institutional theory to characterize the development of social entrepreneurship in terms of its key actors, discourses, and emerging narrative logics.

read less

Abstract: Following Kuhn, this article conceptualizes social entrepreneurship as a field of action in a pre-paradigmatic state that currently lacks an established epistemology. Using approaches from neo-institutional theory, this research focuses on the microstructures of legitimation that characterize the development of social entrepreneurship in terms of its key actors, discourses, and emerging narrative logics. This analysis suggests that the dominant discourses of social entrepreneurship represent legitimating material for resource-rich actors in a process of reflexive isomorphism. Returning to Kuhn, the article concludes by delineating a critical role for scholarly research on social entrepreneurship in terms of resolving conflicting discourses within its future paradigmatic development.

...read moreread less

Citations

PDF

Open Access

More filters

Book Chapter•DOI•

Economy and Society

[...]

John Fitzmaurice

01 Jan 1998

TL;DR: The four Visegrad states (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary) form a compact area between Germany and Austria in the west and the states of the former USSR in the east as discussed by the authors.

...read moreread less

Abstract: The four Visegrad states — Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia (until 1993 Czechoslovakia) and Hungary — form a compact area between Germany and Austria in the west and the states of the former USSR in the east. They are bounded by the Baltic in the north and the Danube river in the south. They are cut by the Sudeten and Carpathian mountain ranges, which divide Poland off from the other states. Poland is an extension of the North European plain and like the latter is drained by rivers that flow from south to north west — the Oder, the Vlatava and the Elbe, the Vistula and the Bug. The Danube is the great exception, flowing from its source eastward, turning through two 90-degree turns to end up in the Black Sea, forming the barrier and often the political frontier between central Europe and the Balkans. Hungary to the east of the Danube is also an open plain. The region is historically and culturally part of western Europe, but its eastern Marches now represents a vital strategic zone between Germany and the core of the European Union to the west and the Russian zone to the east.

...read moreread less

3,056 citations

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

[...]

Paul DiMaggio, Walter W. Powell

01 Jan 2008

TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them, and describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative.

...read moreread less

Abstract: What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

...read moreread less

2,134 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Social Enterprises as Hybrid Organizations:A Review and Research Agenda*

[...]

Bob Doherty¹, Helen Haugh², Fergus Lyon³•Institutions (3)

University of York¹, University of Cambridge², Middlesex University³

01 Oct 2014-International Journal of Management Reviews

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify hybridity, the pursuit of the dual mission of financial sustainability and social purpose, as the defining characteristic of social enterprises, and assess the impact of hybridity on the management of the SE mission, financial resource acquisition and human resource mobilization.

...read moreread less

Abstract: The impacts of the global economic crisis of 2008, the intractable problems of persistent poverty and environmental change have focused attention on organizations that combine enterprise with an embedded social purpose. Scholarly interest in social enterprise (SE) has progressed beyond the early focus on definitions and context to investigate their management and performance. From a review of the SE literature, the authors identify hybridity, the pursuit of the dual mission of financial sustainability and social purpose, as the defining characteristic of SEs.They assess the impact of hybridity on the management of the SE mission, financial resource acquisition and human resource mobilization, and present a framework for understanding the tensions and trade-offs resulting from hybridity. By examining the influence of dual mission and conflicting institutional logics on SE management the authors suggest future research directions for theory development for SE and hybrid organizations more generally.

...read moreread less

1,128 citations

Cites background from "The Legitimacy of Social Entreprene..."

...Management mechanisms include crosssubsidization business models, leveraging mixed funding streams, accessing social investment funds and the adoption of new legal forms for SE that accommodate dual mission and make it easier to raise equity (Battilana et al. 2012; Nicholls 2010a)....
[...]
...This leads to tensions arising from conflict in the relative prioritization of financial over social goals (Zahra et al. 2009), which may, in turn, lead to mission drift and potential problems with stakeholder legitimacy (Nicholls 2010c)....
[...]
...These include the Low Profit Limited Liability Company, the Benefit Corporation and Flexible Purpose Corporation in the US (Battilana et al. 2012), the Community Interest Company in the UK (Nicholls 2010a) and social cooperatives in Italy (Thomas 2004)....
[...]
...A shift in organizational mission from social to commercial orientation also impacts on stakeholder perceptions of SE legitimacy (Dart 2004; Nicholls 2010c)....
[...]
...2009), which may, in turn, lead to mission drift and potential problems with stakeholder legitimacy (Nicholls 2010c)....
[...]

Journal Article•DOI•

Venturing for Others with Heart and Head: How Compassion Encourages Social Entrepreneurship

[...]

Toyah L. Miller¹, Matthew G. Grimes², Jeffery S. McMullen¹, Timothy J. Vogus³•Institutions (3)

Indiana University¹, University of Alberta², Vanderbilt University³

01 Oct 2012-Academy of Management Review

TL;DR: In this article, the authors draw on research on compassion and prosocial motivation to build a model of three mechanisms (integrative thinking, prosocial cost-benefit analysis, and commitment to alleviating others' suffering) that transform compassion into social entrepreneurship.

...read moreread less

Abstract: Social entrepreneurship has emerged as a complex yet promising organizational form in which market-based methods are used to address seemingly intractable social issues, but its motivations remain undertheorized. Research asserts that compassion may supplement traditional self-oriented motivations in encouraging social entrepreneurship. We draw on research on compassion and prosocial motivation to build a model of three mechanisms (integrative thinking, prosocial cost-benefit analysis, and commitment to alleviating others' suffering) that transform compassion into social entrepreneurship, and we identify the institutional conditions under which they are most likely to do so. We conclude by discussing the model's contribution to and implications for the positive organizational scholarship literature, entrepreneurship literature, and social entrepreneurship literature.

...read moreread less

767 citations

Cites background from "The Legitimacy of Social Entreprene..."

...…that exclusively support social enterprises (e.g., Skoll Foundation), and new fellowship programs that similarly support social entrepreneurs (e.g., Ashoka) all work to ensure that “social entrepreneurship is legitimated by its hero entrepreneurs and their success stories” (Nicholls, 2010: 622)....
[...]
...Moreover, the degree to which the legitimacy of a particular organizational form (such as social enterprise) will exert pressure on an individual’s choice is contingent on individual perception (Nicholls, 2010; Scott & Lane, 2000)....
[...]
...Together, the increased relative pragmatic and moral legitimacy of social entrepreneurship create the conditions that will further channel the cognitive and affective processes we have identified to compel individuals to engage in social entrepreneurship (Dart, 2004; Nicholls, 2010)....
[...]

Journal Article•DOI•

Social innovation: Moving the field forward. A conceptual framework

[...]

Giovany Cajaiba-Santana¹•Institutions (1)

KEDGE Business School¹

01 Feb 2014-Technological Forecasting and Social Change

TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose a new conceptual framework to investigate social innovation as a driver of social change in management, entrepreneurship, and public management, which is based on institutional and structuration theories.

...read moreread less

706 citations

1
2
3
4
…
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161

Collapse

References

PDF

Open Access

More filters

Journal Article•DOI•

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

[...]

Thomas S. Kuhn, David Hawkins

01 Jul 1963-American Journal of Physics

34,393 citations

Book Chapter•DOI•

The iron cage revisited institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields

[...]

Paul DiMaggio, Walter W. Powell

01 Apr 1983-American Sociological Review

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them, and describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative.

...read moreread less

32,981 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony

[...]

John W. Meyer, Brian Rowan

01 Sep 1977-American Journal of Sociology

TL;DR: Many formal organizational structures arise as reflections of rationalized institutional rules as discussed by the authors, and the elaboration of such rules in modern states and societies accounts in part for the expansion and i...

...read moreread less

Abstract: Many formal organizational structures arise as reflections of rationalized institutional rules. The elaboration of such rules in modern states and societies accounts in part for the expansion and i...

...read moreread less

23,073 citations

"The Legitimacy of Social Entreprene..." refers background in this paper

...…constructs consequent upon, and defined by, existing cultural material and networks of social influence and communication (Carter & Deephouse, 1999; Meyer & Rowan, 1977; Meyer & Scott, 1983; Meyer, Scott, Cole, & Intili, 1978; Meyer, Scott, & Deal, 1981; for an overview see Deephouse & Suchman,…...
[...]

Journal Article•DOI•

Managing Legitimacy: Strategic and Institutional Approaches

[...]

Mark C. Suchman¹•Institutions (1)

University of Wisconsin-Madison¹

01 Jul 1995-Academy of Management Review

TL;DR: This article synthesize the large but diverse literature on organizational legitimacy, highlighting similarities and disparities among the leading strategic and institutional approaches, and identify three primary forms of legitimacy: pragmatic, based on audience self-interest; moral, based upon normative approval; and cognitive, according to comprehensibility and taken-for-grantedness.

...read moreread less

Abstract: This article synthesizes the large but diverse literature on organizational legitimacy, highlighting similarities and disparities among the leading strategic and institutional approaches. The analysis identifies three primary forms of legitimacy: pragmatic, based on audience self-interest; moral, based on normative approval: and cognitive, based on comprehensibility and taken-for-grantedness. The article then examines strategies for gaining, maintaining, and repairing legitimacy of each type, suggesting both the promises and the pitfalls of such instrumental manipulations.

...read moreread less

13,229 citations

"The Legitimacy of Social Entreprene..." refers background in this paper

...Scott (1995) and Suchman (1995) focused on the former type and identified a tripartite structure within it characterized as regulative/pragmatic, normative/moral, and cognitive legitimacies....
[...]
...Suchman (1995) provided the most developed account of the management of organizational legitimacy in a 12-part model of the strategic techniques through which positive legitimacy perceptions are created, maintained, and recovered....
[...]

Book•

The constitution of society

[...]

Charles H. Powers, Anthony Giddens

01 Jan 1984

9,241 citations