All social entrepreneurship projects share one underlying characteristic: hybridity. Pursuing social goals with business means in order to maximize impact and sustainability, or doing business in a socially responsible manner in order to increase the reputation of a company and engage talented employees, there are different mixes and combinations along what is sometimes called the hybrid spectrum. This episode examines a few hybrid organizations and strategies, looking at the opportunities, and dangers, of “the hybrid spirit”.
With the participation of:
Laurence Lehmann-Ortega, affiliate professor at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales in Paris.
Raúl Contreras, businessman, economist and social entrepreneur, founder of Nittua (a Spanish platform working on tools for an inclusive economic ecosystem) and an Ashoka fellow.
Ana Bella Estevez, founder of the Ana Bella Foundation (a network of women who survived domestic violence) and an Ashoka fellow.
LINKS, REFERENCES, FURTHER DISCOVERIES
The Emmaus Movement and its founder Abbé Pierre.
Yunus, Muhammad; Moingeon, Bertrand; and Lehmann-Ortega, Laurence (2010) “Building Social Business Models: Lessons from the Grameen Experience”, Long Range Planning International Journal of Strategic Management n.43, pp 308-325.
Haigh, Nardia and Hoffman, Andrew J. (2012): “Hybrid organizations: The next chapter of sustainable business”, Organizational Dynamics n. 41, pp 126-134.
Friedman, Milton “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits” New York Times Magazine, September 13, 1970.
To learn more about “the hybrid spectrum”, take a look at this blogpost.