Different Roads Lead to the Same Goal? Research on Growth Path of Social Enterprises in China

Abstract

This paper selects three typical social enterprises to conduct exploratory case studies on their growth paths based on grounded theory. The findings show that different types of organizations are different in paths to grow into social enterprises, that is, non-profit organizations to carry out market-oriented practice, independent creation of social enterprises and commercial enterprises of public innovation. Meanwhile, In the process of social enterprise growth, similarities and differences of social enterprises growth coexist due to the effects of various combinations of factors. Business model innovation and management control are both used, but growth motivation and resource bricolage are different in the process of growth. On the basis of single case analysis and cross case comparison, this paper further deconstructs the relevant concepts, and proposes an integrated framework for the growth path of social enterprises, which provides enlightenment for the follow-up research.