The nascent ecology of social enterprise

Helen Haugh (), Paul Robson (), John Hagedoorn () and Kate Sugar ()
Additional contact information
Helen Haugh: University of Cambridge
Paul Robson: Royal Holloway University of London
John Hagedoorn: Royal Holloway University of London
Kate Sugar: University of Bath

Small Business Economics, 2022, vol. 58, issue 3, No 1, 1223-1242

Abstract: Abstract Employing population ecology theory, we examine social enterprise population emergence in the UK after 2005 when a new organizational form for social enterprise was established. Our density dependence analysis of nearly seven thousand community interest companies finds that survival is positively influenced by age and population densities of both other social enterprises and commercial organizations. Two specific patterns in population emergence are identified: social enterprise survival is more likely influenced by industry than age, a finding that we label the liability of specificity, and their survival benefits from the population density of commercial organizations but not non-profit organizations, a finding that we label the hybrid-commercial benefit. Our research identifies the liability of specificity as a new concept in population ecology theory and the hybrid-commercial benefit as a contextual influence on social enterprise survival.

Keywords: Population ecology; Density dependence; Social enterprise; Survival; Community interest companies; L26; L31; M21; P31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11187-020-00442-9

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