TY - GEN A1 - Mair, Johanna A1 - Coles, J. T1 - The Freeplay Energy Group and Foundation KW - Strategy KW - Innovation KW - Social entrepreneurship KW - Underdevelopment KW - New technologies Y1 - 2014 UR - http://protectedpdf.iese.edu/descargas/DG-1467-E-1725877.pdf N1 - This is the first of a two-case series (DG-1467-E and DG-1501-E). PB - IESE Business School CY - Spain ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ebrahim, Alnoor A1 - Battilana, Julie A1 - Mair, Johanna T1 - The Governance of Social Enterprises: Mission drift and accountability challenges in hybrid organizations JF - Research in Organizational Behavior N2 - We examine the challenges of governance facing organizations that pursue a social mission through the use of market mechanisms. These hybrid organizations, often referred to as social enterprises, combine aspects of both charity and business at their core. In this paper we distinguish between two ideal types of such hybrids, differentiated and integrated, and we conceptualize two key challenges of governance they face: accountability for dual performance objectives and accountability to multiple principal stakeholders. We revisit the potential and limitations of recently introduced legal forms to address these challenges. We then theorize about the importance of organizational governance and the role of governing boards in particular, in prioritizing and aligning potentially conflicting objectives and interests in order to avoid mission drift and to maintain organizational hybridity in social enterprises. Finally, we discuss future research directions and the implications of this work for rethinking traditional categories of organizations, namely business and charity. KW - Governance KW - Accountability KW - Social enterprise KW - Nonprofit KW - Organizational hybridity Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2014.09.001 VL - 34 SP - 81 EP - 100 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mair, Johanna A1 - Hehenberger, Lisa T1 - Front-Stage and Backstage Convening: The Transition from Opposition to Mutualistic Coexistence in Organizational Philanthropy JF - Academy of Management Journal N2 - Actors who support dissimilar institutional models can overcome conflict and move toward mutually beneficial coexistence. To see how, we studied the emergence of venture philanthropy, a rationalized approach to organizational philanthropy in Europe. Our analysis leverages multiple sources of data and focuses on field-configuring events as settings for interactions. We show how convening—bringing together dissimilar actors—in different types of events creates relational spaces for negotiation over institutional models, their practices, and their underlying assumptions. Front-stage interactions in public spaces are important in making models accessible to a broad audience, whereas backstage interactions in protected spaces allow models to be deconstructed. Our findings show that the interplay between front stage and backstage enables the reframing of institutional models by refining the constituent practices, which neutralizes opposition and facilitates joint courses of action. Our results contrast with popular accounts of competing institutional logics, advance organizational research on the role of events in field trajectories, and expose the collective rationalization of giving. KW - organizational philanthropy KW - institutional pluralism KW - convening KW - field-configuring events KW - interactionism Y1 - 2014 VL - 57 IS - 4 SP - 1174 EP - 1200 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Uzo, Uchenna A1 - Mair, Johanna T1 - Source and Patterns of Organizational Defiance of Formal Institutions: Insights from Nollywood, the Nigerian Movie Industry JF - Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal N2 - We extend research on informal economic activity and investigate why organizations adopt informal rules when formal ones exist and how and why patterns of defiance vary across organizations. We build on data from an in-depth study of four organizations operating in the Nigerian movie industry. We identify ambiguity of formal institutions as a major source of organizational defiance. We also find that the organization's domain of embeddedness mediates the relationship between institutional ambiguity and organizational defiance. According to our analysis, the rationale for organizing propelled by the dominant domain of embeddedness affects whether organizations consistently or selectively defy ambiguous formal rules. Our findings highlight the importance of the interplay between institutional and organizational dynamics in understanding informality within an economy. KW - institutional ambiguity KW - organizational defiance KW - informal economy KW - institutional complexity KW - informal institutions Y1 - 2014 VL - 8 IS - 1 SP - 56 EP - 74 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Seelos, Christian A1 - Mair, Johanna T1 - Organizational closure competencies and scaling: A realist approach to theorizing social enterprise T2 - Social entrepreneurship and research methods N2 - 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. KW - Social entrepreneurship KW - scaling KW - realism KW - causal model KW - mechanism-based research Y1 - 2014 SN - 978-1-78441-142-8 SP - 147 EP - 188 PB - Emerald Group Publishing Limited CY - Bingley ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Mair, Johanna A1 - Ganly, Kate T1 - Social Entrepreneurship: Innovation on Dual Frontiers T2 - Wiley Encyclopedia of Management N2 - Over the past two decades, social entrepreneurship as a phenomenon has gained increased momentum and is widely recognized for its potential to address social needs or problems that too often fall through the gaps of our market and governance systems. This article presents social entrepreneurship as a powerful tool to shape and change institutions and ultimately to inspire the commercial and public sectors. It is conceptualized as a process involving innovation on two levels: (i) the innovation of a new type of product, service, or structure that is created to fulfil unmet needs; and (ii) the innovation of envisioning and enacting alternative institutional arrangements. We contend that the dual nature of this type of innovation is what makes social entrepreneurship more effective than existing solutions and distinguishes it from conventional entrepreneurship. Two case studies are examined to show how social entrepreneurs kick start change by challenging taken for granted ways of doing things and demonstrating how new strategies can make a real impact. They illustrate that more sustainable solutions are possible and often provide “proof of concept” leading to the creation of new markets, new policies, and even new behaviors and attitudes. KW - Social entrepreneurship KW - Innovation KW - institutions KW - social change KW - social innovation Y1 - 2014 SN - 9781119002352 VL - 6: International Management PB - John Wiley & Sons ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Moschieri, Caterina A1 - Mair, Johanna T1 - Successful Divestitures Need Proper Cultivation T2 - Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage : Concepts and Cases Y1 - 2014 SN - 9781259011801 PB - McGraw Hill Higher Education ER -