Organizational closure competencies and scaling: A realist approach to theorizing social enterprise
- 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.
MetadatenDocument Type: | Part of a Book |
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Language: | English |
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Author(s): | Christian Seelos, Johanna MairORCiD |
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Parent Title (English): | Social entrepreneurship and research methods |
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Publisher: | Emerald Group Publishing Limited |
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Place of Publisher: | Bingley |
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Publication year: | 2014 |
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First Page: | 147 |
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Last Page: | 188 |
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ISBN: | 978-1-78441-142-8 |
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Release Date: | 2016/01/22 |
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Tag: | Social entrepreneurship; causal model; mechanism-based research; realism; scaling |
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Licence of document (German): | Metadaten / metadata |
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