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Organizational closure competencies and scaling: A realist approach to theorizing social enterprise
(2014)
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.
Mastering System Change
(2018)
La Iniciativa Sekem
(2005)
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.
This case documents the circumstances of managing the growth phase of a start-up company. Entropy International faces the unique challenges and opportunities of social entrepreneurship but also entrepreneurship in general. Founded by a visionary environmental activist in 1996 as an environmental consulting boutique in the United Kingdom, Entropy grew with the emerging needs of large multinational corporations to publicly report on and minimise the environmental and social impacts of their operations. Entropy started out as a two-person consultancy to become the market leader in Europe, selling an integrated environmental, health and safety, quality control and reporting suite. At the time of the case (March 2003), Entropy employed 30 people and expected revenues of 1.6 million pounds for fiscal year 2003.