@article{MairWolfSeelos, author = {Mair, Johanna and Wolf, Miriam and Seelos, Christian}, title = {Scaffolding: A Process of Transforming Patterns of Inequality in Small-Scale Societies}, series = {Academy of Management Journal}, volume = {59}, journal = {Academy of Management Journal}, number = {6}, issn = {0001-4273}, doi = {10.5465/amj.2015.0725}, pages = {2021 -- 2044}, abstract = {This study advances research on organizational efforts to tackle multidimensional, complex, and interlinked societal challenges. We examine how social inequality manifests in small-scale societies, and illustrate how it inheres in entrenched patterns of behavior and interaction. Asking how development programs can be organizing tools to transform these patterns of inequality, we use a program sponsored by an Indian non-governmental organization as our empirical window and leverage data that we collected over a decade. We identify "scaffolding" as a process that enables and organizes the transformation of behavior and interaction patterns. Three interrelated mechanisms make the transformation processes adaptive and emerging alternative social orders robust: (1) mobilizing institutional, social organizational, and economic resources; (2) stabilizing new patterns of interaction that reflect an alternative social order; and (3) concealing goals that are neither anticipated nor desired by some groups. Through this analysis, we move beyond conventional thinking on unintended consequences proposed in classic studies on organizations, complement contemporary research about how organizations effect positive social change by pursuing multiple goals, and develop portable insights for organizational efforts in tackling inequality. This study provides a first link between the study of organizational efforts to alleviate social problems and the transformation of social systems.}, language = {en} } @article{SeelosMair, author = {Seelos, Christian and Mair, Johanna}, title = {Eine lohnende Investition mit ungewissem Ausgang}, series = {Neue Caritas}, volume = {17}, journal = {Neue Caritas}, pages = {9 -- 13}, abstract = {Innovation in sozialen Organisationen bedeutet vor allem eines nicht: die Garantie auf eine schnelle L{\"o}sung von Problemen. Vielmehr ist Innovation ein Prozess, der das Lernpotenzial des Unternehmens steigert und damit auch den gewollten Mehrwert generiert.}, language = {de} } @article{SeelosMair, author = {Seelos, Christian and Mair, Johanna}, title = {Innovation and Scale: A Tough Balancing Act}, series = {Stanford Social Innovation Review}, volume = {Spring 2013}, journal = {Stanford Social Innovation Review}, number = {Special Supplement: Innovation for a Complex World}, pages = {12 -- 14}, language = {en} } @article{SeelosMair, author = {Seelos, Christian and Mair, Johanna}, title = {Innovation Is Not the Holy Grail}, series = {Stanford Social Innovation Review}, volume = {Fall 2012}, journal = {Stanford Social Innovation Review}, pages = {45 -- 49}, language = {en} } @incollection{SeelosMair, author = {Seelos, Christian and Mair, Johanna}, title = {Organizational closure competencies and scaling: A realist approach to theorizing social enterprise}, series = {Social entrepreneurship and research methods}, booktitle = {Social entrepreneurship and research methods}, publisher = {Emerald Group Publishing Limited}, address = {Bingley}, isbn = {978-1-78441-142-8}, pages = {147 -- 188}, abstract = {Purpose Social entrepreneurs create novel approaches to social problems such as poverty. But scaling these approaches to the dimension of the problem can be a difficult task. In the social enterprise sector, the subject of scaling has become a key dimension of organizational performance. This chapter advances the scholarly literature on the scaling of social enterprises, a literature which is currently in an embryonic stage and characterized by conceptual ambiguity and fragmented perspectives. Methodology/Approach We engage realist philosophy of science to develop mechanism-based causal explanations of the scaling performance of social enterprises. We also develop a coding scheme to guide systematic empirical analysis and highlight the explanatory power of counterfactuals. Counterfactuals have been largely neglected in empirical research as they represent mechanisms that are enabled but remain unobservable - in a state of suppression or neutralization of their effects. Findings We question the ability of organizations to "socially engineer" desired outcomes and introduce a new construct - organizational closure competence. Anchored in realism, this construct provides a basis for productive approaches to social engineering. We elaborate on the importance of organizational closure competencies for scaling, derive a series of propositions, and develop ideas for future research and for practice. Research, Practical and Social Implications Applying a realist lens allows us to add empirical rigor to research on social enterprises and scaling. Our approach constitutes a move from rich narratives to causal models and informs the way we design and evaluate efforts to address important societal challenges. Originality/Value of Chapter This chapter demonstrates how to operationalize realist philosophy of science for causal explanations of complex social phenomena and better utilize its theoretical and practical value.}, language = {en} } @book{MairSeelos, author = {Mair, Johanna and Seelos, Christian}, title = {Innovation and Scaling for Impact}, publisher = {Stanford University Press}, address = {Stanford}, isbn = {9780804797344}, pages = {256}, abstract = {Innovation and Scaling for Impact forces us to reassess how social sector organizations create value. Drawing on a decade of research, Christian Seelos and Johanna Mair transcend widely held misconceptions, getting to the core of what a sound impact strategy entails in the nonprofit world. They reveal an overlooked nexus between investments that might not pan out (innovation) and expansion based on existing strengths (scaling). In the process, it becomes clear that managing this tension is a difficult balancing act that fundamentally defines an organization and its impact. The authors examine innovation pathologies that can derail organizations by thwarting their efforts to juggle these imperatives. Then, through four rich case studies, they detail innovation archetypes that effectively sidestep these pathologies and blend innovation with scaling. Readers will come away with conceptual models to drive progress in the social sector and tools for defining the future of their organizations.}, language = {en} } @article{MairSeelos, author = {Mair, Johanna and Seelos, Christian}, title = {When Innovation Goes Wrong}, series = {Stanford Social Innovation Review}, volume = {14}, journal = {Stanford Social Innovation Review}, number = {4}, issn = {1542-7099}, pages = {27 -- 33}, abstract = {Efforts by social enterprises to develop novel interventions receive a great deal of attention. Yet these organizations often stumble when it comes to turning innovation into impact. As a result, they fail to achieve their full potential. Here's a guide to diagnosing and preventing several "pathologies" that underlie this failure.}, language = {en} }