Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Entrepreneurship and SME Management Across Africa pp 105–128Cite as

The Challenge of Developing a Sustainable Hybrid Organization: The Case of Greenpop

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 1197 Accesses

Part of the book series: Frontiers in African Business Research ((FABR))

Abstract

This chapter introduces readers to the topics of social entrepreneurship and hybridity of social and financial values. A South African case study is used to illustrate the particular challenges faced by social entrepreneurs in a sub-Saharan context . The emergence of the Greenpop as a social enterprise is described, and the strategies developed by its founders to ensure effectiveness and survival are identified. Particular attention is paid to how a business model was developed to ensure financial sustainability, while enabling the venture to create social value, to the way in which founders promote the distinctiveness of their enterprise among other social ventures, as well as to the factors associated with venture success.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Greenpop managers use the term ‘activations’ to refer to venture activities that involve not only actions taken by enterprise staff, but actions generated by their engagement among targeted communities or other stakeholders.

  2. 2.

    From the ‘home’ page of the venture’s Web site: http://www.greenpop.org/.

  3. 3.

    That is, in terms of the legal organizational status of the enterprise.

  4. 4.

    Beneficiaries need to prove that they need trees, have access to water and permanent staff, and can provide security.

References

  • Abrahamsson A (2007) Researching Sustainopreneurship–conditions, concepts, approaches, arenas and questions. Paper presented at the 13th International sustainable development research conference, Mälardalens Högskola, Västerås

    Google Scholar 

  • Alvord SH, Brown LD, Letts CW (2004) Social entrepreneurship and societal transformation: an exploratory study. J Appl Behav Sci 40(3):260–282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Austin J, Gutiérrez R, Ogliastri E, Reficco E (eds) (2006) Effective management of social enterprises: lessons from businesses and civil society organizations in Iberoamerica. Social Enterprise Knowledge Network, Harvard University

    Google Scholar 

  • Aygören H (2014) Research in social entrepreneurship: from historical roots to future routes. In: Phan PH, Kickul J, Bacq S, Nordqvist M (eds) Theory and empirical research in social entrepreneurship. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, p 11

    Google Scholar 

  • Bacq S, Janssen F (2011) The multiple faces of social entrepreneurship: a review of definitional issues based on geographical and thematic criteria. Entrepreneurship Reg Dev 23(5–6):373–403

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Battilana J, Lee M (2014) Advancing research on hybrid organizing—insights from the study of social enterprises. Acad Manag Annals 8(1):397–441

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blowfield M, Murray A (2011) Corporate responsibility: a critical introduction, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Bos-Brouwers H (2010) Sustainable innovation processes within small and medium-sized enterprises. http://dare.ubvu.vu.nl/bitstream/1871/16050/1/dissertation.pdf. Accessed on 22 Aug 2013

  • Brundtland GH, Khalid M (1987) Our common future. World Commission on Environment and Development, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • Chell E (2007) Social enterprise and entrepreneurship: towards a convergent theory of the entrepreneurial process. Int Small Bus J 25(1):5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi DY, Gray ER (2008) The venture development processes of “sustainable” entrepreneurs. Manage Res News 31(8):558–569

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen B, Winn MI (2007) Market imperfections, opportunity and sustainable entrepreneurship. J Bus Ventur 22(1):29–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen B, Smith B, Mitchell RK (2008) Toward a sustainable conceptualization of dependent variables in entrepreneurship research. Bus Strategy Environ 17(2):107–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Datta PB, Gailey R (2012) Empowering women through social entrepreneurship: case study of a women’s cooperative in India. Entrepreneurship Theory Pract 36(3):569–587

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dean T, McMullen J (2007) Toward a theory of sustainable entrepreneurship: reducing environmental degradation through entrepreneurial action. J Bus Ventur 22(1):50–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dees JG, Anderson BB (2003) For-Profit Social Ventures. In: Kourilsky ML, Walstad WB, Osborne AE, Hall S (eds) Social Entrepreneurship. Senate Hall Academic Pub, Dublin, pp 1–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Defourny J, Nyssens M (2008) Social enterprise in Europe: recent trends and developments. Social Enterp J 4(3):202–228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donaldson T, Dunfee TW (1999) Ties that bind: a social contracts approach to business ethics. Harvard Business Press, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorado S (2006) Social entrepreneurial ventures: different values so different process of creation, no? J Dev Entrepreneurship 11(4):319–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elkington J (1997) Cannibals with forks: the triple bottom line of twenty first century business. Capstone, Mankato, MN

    Google Scholar 

  • Fiol CM, Pratt MG, O’Connor EJ (2009) Managing intractable identity conflicts’. Acad Manag Rev 34(1):32–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerlach A (2003) Sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation. Paper presented at the Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, Leeds, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs D (2009) Sustainability entrepreneurs, ecopreneurs and the development of a sustainable economy. Greener Manag Int 55:63–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson CB, Birkinshaw J (2004) The antecedents, consequences, and mediating role of organizational ambidexterity. Acad Manag J 47(2):209–226

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grimes M (2010) Strategic sensemaking within funding relationships: the effects of performance measurement on organizational identity in the social sector. Entrepreneurship Theory Pract 34(4):763–783

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guclu A, Dees JG, Anderson BB (2002), The process of social entrepreneurship: creating opportunities worthy of serious pursuit. Working Paper, Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship: Duke—The Fuqua School of Business

    Google Scholar 

  • Haigh N, Walker J, Bacq S, Kickul J (2015) Hybrid Organizations: origins, strategies, impacts and implications. Calif Manag Rev 57(3):5–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hockerts K (2006) Entrepreneurial opportunity in social purpose business ventures. In: Mair J, Robinson J, Hockerts K (eds) Social entrepreneurship. Palgrave Macmillan, pp 142–154

    Google Scholar 

  • Hockerts K, Wüstenhagen R (2010) Greening Goliaths versus emerging Davids: theorizing about the role of incumbents and new entrants in sustainable entrepreneurship. J Bus Ventur 25(5):481–492

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofstra N (2007) Sustainable entrepreneurship in dialogue. Progr Indus Ecol: Int J 4(6):495–514

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • International Labour Organization (2011) A guide to legal forms for social enterprises in South Africa. Pretoria, South Africa

    Google Scholar 

  • Jay J (2013) Navigating paradox as a mechanism of change and innovation in hybrid organizations. Acad Manag J 56(1):137–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnstone H, Lionais D (2004) Depleted communities and community business entrepreneurship: revaluing space through place. Entrepreneurship Reg Dev 16(3):217–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein Woolthuis RJA (2010) Sustainable entrepreneurship in the Dutch construction industry. Sustainability 2(2):505–523

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kraatz MS, Block ES (2008) Organizational implications of institutional pluralism. The Sage handbook of organizational institutionalism, vol 840, pp 243–275

    Google Scholar 

  • Krueger NF, Hansen DJ, Michl T, Welsh DHB (2011) Thinking “Sustainably”: the role of intentions, cognitions, and emotions in understanding new domains of entrepreneurship. In: Lumpkin GT, Katz JA (eds) Advances in entrepreneurship, firm emergence, and growth: social and sustainable entrepreneurship, vol 13. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp 275–309

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuckertz A, Wagner M (2009) The influence of sustainability orientation on entrepreneurial intentions–Investigating the role of business experience. J Bus Ventur 25(5):524–539

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levinsohn DS (2013) Disembedded and beheaded?—a critical review of the emerging field of sustainability entrepreneurship. Int J Entrepreneurship Small Bus 19(2):190–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • London T, Hart SL (2010) Next generation business strategies for the base of the pyramid: new approaches for building mutual value. FT Press, Upper Saddle River NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • Mair J, Marti I (2009) Entrepreneurship in and around institutional voids: a case study from Bangladesh. J Bus Ventur 24(5):419–435

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mair J, Martí I (2006) Social entrepreneurship research: a source of explanation, prediction, and delight. J World Bus 41(1):36–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • March JG (1991) Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. Organ Sci 2(1):71–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer JW, Scott WR (1991) The organization of societal sectors: propositions and early evidence. The new institutionalism in organizational analysis, pp 108–140

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy PJ, Coombes SM (2009) A model of social entrepreneurial discovery. J Bus Ethics 87(3):325–336

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council (1999) Our common journey: a transition toward sustainability. National Academies Press, Washington DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Neck HM, Brush CG, Allen E (2009) The landscape of social entrepreneurship. Bus Horiz 52(1):13–19. http://tinyurl.com/hx77r9z. Accessed 20 Sept 2014

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson J, Ishikawa E, Geaneotes A (2009) Developing inclusive business models: a review of Coca-Cola’s manual distribution centers in Ethiopia and Tanzania. Harvard Kennedy School and International Finance Corporation

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Reilly CA, Tushman ML (2013) Organizational ambidexterity: past, present, and future. Acad Manag Perspect 27(4):324–338

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pache AC, Santos F (2013) Inside the hybrid organization: selective coupling as a response to competing institutional logics. Acad Manag J 56(4):972–1001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parrish BD (2008) Sustainability-driven entrepreneurship: a literature review. Sustainability Research Institute: Working papers University of Leeds, School of Earth & Environment, Leeds UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Parrish BD (2010) Sustainability-driven entrepreneurship: principles of organization design. J Bus Ventur 25(5):510–523

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patzelt H, Shepherd DA (2011) Recognizing opportunities for sustainable development. Entrepreneurship Theory Pract 35(4):631–652

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peredo AM, McLean M (2006) Social Entrepreneurship: a critical review of the concept. J World Bus 41(1):56–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter ME, Kramer MR (2011) Creating shared value. Harvard Bus Rev 89(1/2):62–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Raisch S, Birkinshaw J, Probst G, Tushman ML (2009) Organizational ambidexterity: balancing exploitation and exploration for sustained performance. Organ Sci 20(4):685–695

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reuf M, Patterson K (2009) Credit and classification: the impact of industry boundaries in 19th century America. Adm Sci Q 54:486–520

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salamon LM, Anheier HK (1997) Defining the nonprofit sector: a cross-national analysis. Manchester University Press, Manchester

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaltegger S, Wagner M (2008) Types of sustainable entrepreneurship and conditions for sustainability innovation: from the administration of a technical challenge to the management of an entrepreneurial opportunity. In: Wüstenhagen R, Hamschmidt J, Sharma S, Starik M (eds) Sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaltegger S, Wagner M (2011) Sustainable entrepreneurship and sustainability innovation: categories and interactions. Bus Strategy Environ 20(4):222–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaper M (2005) Understanding the green entrepreneur. In: Schaper M (ed) Making ecopreneurs: developing sustainable entrepreneurship. Ashgate Publishing Limited, Aldershot, pp 3–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Schlange LE (2006) What drives sustainable entrepreneurs? Paper presented at the Applied Business & Entrepreneurship Association International

    Google Scholar 

  • Schlange LE (2009) Stakeholder identification in sustainability entrepreneurship: the role of managerial and organisational cognition. Greener Manag Int 55:13–32

    Google Scholar 

  • SEC (2010) Social Enterprise Coalition. http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/. Accessed 27 Sept 2012

  • Seelos C, Mair J (2005) Sustainable development: how social entrepreneurs make it happen. IESE Working Paper, p 611

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharir M, Lerner M (2006) Gauging the success of social ventures initiated by individual social entrepreneurs. J World Bus 41(1):6–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shepherd DA, Patzelt H (2011) The new field of sustainable entrepreneurship: studying entrepreneurial action linking “What Is to Be Sustained” with “What Is to Be Developed”. Entrepreneurship Theory Pract 35(1):137–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon J, Dale H, Chisolm L (2006) The federal tax treatment of charitable organizations. The nonprofit sector: a research handbook, p 267

    Google Scholar 

  • Spear R (2006) Social entrepreneurship: a different model? Int J Soc Econ 33(5/6):399–410

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steinman S (2010) An exploratory study into factors influencing an enabling environment for social enterprises in South Africa. University of Johannesburg

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson JL (2008) Social enterprise and social entrepreneurship: where have we reached? A summary of issues and discussion points. Soc Enterp J 4(2):149–161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tilley F, Young W (2009) Sustainability entrepreneurs: could they be the true wealth generators of the future? Greener Manag Int 55:79–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Visser W (2010) The age of responsibility: CSR 2.0 and the new DNA of business. J Bus Syst Govern Ethics 5(3):7–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Visser W (2011) Social entrepreneurship in South Africa: context, relevance and extent. Indus High Educ 25(4):233–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welter F (2011) Contextualizing entrepreneurship: conceptual challenges and ways forward. Entrepreneurship Theory Pract 35(1):165–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams CC (2007) Socio-spatial variations in the nature of entrepreneurship. J Enterp Commun: People Places Global Econ 1(1):27–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young W, Tilley F (2006) Can businesses move beyond efficiency? The shift toward effectiveness and equity in the corporate sustainability debate. Bus Strategy Environ 15(6):402–415

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zahra SA, Gedajlovic E, Neubaum DO, Shulman JM (2009) A typology of social entrepreneurs: motives, search processes and ethical challenges. J Bus Ventur 24(5):519–532

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden

    Alina Greinert & Duncan Levinsohn

Authors
  1. Alina Greinert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Duncan Levinsohn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Duncan Levinsohn .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden

    Leona Achtenhagen

  2. Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden

    Ethel Brundin

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Greinert, A., Levinsohn, D. (2016). The Challenge of Developing a Sustainable Hybrid Organization: The Case of Greenpop. In: Achtenhagen, L., Brundin, E. (eds) Entrepreneurship and SME Management Across Africa. Frontiers in African Business Research. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1727-8_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation