How do social enterprises respond operationally to conflicting demands? A resource-based view
Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development
ISSN: 1462-6004
Article publication date: 27 August 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Social enterprises live in the limbo between social and market objectives, posing many operations management challenges. This study extends the discussion of operational priorities, which has focused on purely for-profit organisations, to the context of social enterprises by exploring, from a resource-based perspective, which resources and operational priorities are most important to them and how they are used to respond to conflicting demands.
Design/methodology/approach
Multiple case study research was carried out involving five Portuguese social enterprises, representative of the main sectors in which social enterprises operate in Europe. Ten semi-structured interviews with directors and other high-ranking respondents were conducted, and content was analysed to gather evidence on the key resources and operational priorities pursued by social enterprises. Cross-case conclusions were drawn, resulting in theoretical propositions and a conceptual framework.
Findings
Findings suggest that social enterprises rely on intangible resources and combine different operational priorities, which may vary throughout their lifecycle. Community engagement has emerged as a specific operational priority, in addition to those already reported in the manufacturing and services literature. To balance conflicting demands, most social enterprises studied combine innovation with community engagement or customer focus.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the development of knowledge about the operations strategy in the specific context of social enterprises, an organisational model that has not been systematically addressed in the operations management literature, and brings the discussion of operational priorities into the social enterprise field, thus strengthening the link between these two fields.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research was funded by national funds through the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. (SFRH/BD/118584/2016). It was also supported by the Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (UIDB/04058/2020) + (UIDP/04058/2020), and the Centre for Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Processes (UIDB/00285/2020), funded by national funds through the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P.
Citation
Ávila, L., Ferreira, L.M.D.F. and Amorim, M. (2024), "How do social enterprises respond operationally to conflicting demands? A resource-based view", Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-08-2023-0389
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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