Sink or Swim: Social Enterprise as a Panacea for Non‐profit Organisations?

Abstract

Abstract:The institutional frameworks and contexts that support social enterprises and the growth of hybrid organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa require more concerted examination. Drawing upon a qualitative study, and examined through a framework of Postcolonial theory, this paper contributes to emerging discussions in this area through an investigation of the transformation of non-profit organisations (NPOs) towards the social enterprise model and exploring the impact of hybridity on the management of these organisations in Tanzania. The study suggests that NPOs mimic social enterprise 'best practices' to secure financial resources and integrate their traditional values into the social enterprise model creating tensions resulting from hybridity.

Ethical Judgments About Social Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Influence of Spatio-Cultural Meanings

“…We define this level as part of the global circuit of reflexive knowledge about capitalism (Thrift 2005). SE occupies a specific node within this broader circuit, one that branches into sustainable capitalism (Dey and Steyaert 2016), development (Seelos and Mair 2005) and blending of prosocial goals (Miller et al 2012) alongside competitive behaviours (Calvo and Morales 2015). This paradox (Jay 2013) produces ethical tensions and conflicting cultural meanings (Smith et al 2013).…”

Social enterprise resilience in sub‐Saharan Africa

“…These include studies of Nigeria (Omorede, 2014;Thorgren & Omorede, 2015); Kenya (Holt & Littlewood, 2017); the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda (Kolk & Lenfant, 2016); and Tanzania (Calvo & Morales, 2015), among others. On the whole, cross-country studies of the kind presented in this paper remain limited (for examples, see Littlewood & Holt, 2015b;Rivera-Santos et al, 2015).…”

The Role of Social Enterprises in Building Inclusive Social Capital: Evidences from Multi-Case, Qualitative Field Study

“…proposes that a 'virtuous cycle' could be built between state, market and civil society for creating balanced growth, equity, and stability (Lewis, 2002;Howell, 2006;Clavo & Morales, 2016). It is argued that a vibrant civil society will lead to the development and strong democratic process which in turn will foster strong civil society, thus leading to a virtuous cycle (Mercer, 2002).…”

“…It encourages communities to identify their problems, to initiate and implement their own solutions, and to develop longterm community capacities that foster the integration of economic, social and environmental objectives (Sonnino & Griggs-Trevarthen, 2012). While civil society actors are incredibly diverse (ranging from grassroots associations, social movements, cooperatives, formal non-profits, foundations, and church groups among others) (Banks & Hulme, 2014) the promotion of social enterprises is a part of this broad framework that enlarges the logic of community and social solidarity in the development field (Bhatt, Qureshi & Riaz, 2017;Clavo & Morales, 2016).…”

“…became an explicit policy objective of the development actors, under the framework of 'good governance' (Bank & Hulme, 2014). This development model prioritized the role of civil society organizations in creating balanced growth, equity and stability while enlarging the logic of community (Clavo & Morales, 2016;Babb & Chorev, 2016;Howell, 2006, Lewis, 2002. The promotion of social enterprises in addressing current development challenges is a part of this broad development framework (Venot, 2016;Blowfield & Dolan, 2014).…”