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  • 2014
  • Article
  • Research in Organizational Behavior

The Governance of Social Enterprises: Mission Drift and Accountability Challenges in Hybrid Organizations

By: Alnoor Ebrahim, Julie Battilana and Johanna Mair
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Abstract

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.

Keywords

Social Enterprise; Governance; Hybrid Organizations; Nonprofit; Performance Measurement; Legal Form; Agency Theory; Stakeholder Management; Mission And Purpose; Social Enterprise; Corporate Accountability

Citation

Ebrahim, Alnoor, Julie Battilana, and Johanna Mair. "The Governance of Social Enterprises: Mission Drift and Accountability Challenges in Hybrid Organizations." Research in Organizational Behavior 34 (2014): 81–100.
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About The Author

Julie Battilana

Organizational Behavior
→More Publications

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    La poursuite conjointe d'objectifs sociaux et financiers dans les entreprises. L'entreprise sociale comme laboratoire d'étude des modes d'organisation hybrides

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More from the Authors
  • Terra Nova: A Social Business Trying to Unlock Land Rights for the Urban Poor in Brazil By: Julie Battilana, Ruth Costas, Marissa Kimsey and Priscilla Zogbi
  • Problem, Person, and Pathway: A Framework for Social Innovators By: Julie Battilana, Brittany Butler, Marissa Kimsey, Johanna Mair, Christopher Marquis and Christian Seelos
  • La poursuite conjointe d'objectifs sociaux et financiers dans les entreprises. L'entreprise sociale comme laboratoire d'étude des modes d'organisation hybrides By: Julie Battilana
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