Social Business Hybrids: Demand Externalities, Competitive Advantage, and Growth Through Diversification

Andrea Fosfuri (), Marco S. Giarratana () and Esther Roca ()
Additional contact information
Andrea Fosfuri: Department of Management and Technology, Bocconi University, 20136 Milan, Italy
Marco S. Giarratana: Department of Strategy, IE Business School, 28006 Madrid, Spain
Esther Roca: Department of Management and Technology, Bocconi University, 20136 Milan, Italy

Organization Science, 2016, vol. 27, issue 5, 1275-1289

Abstract: Organization scholars have recently studied the internal challenges and opportunities faced by companies that combine business and social logics (i.e., social business hybrids). By adopting a demand-side perspective, this paper addresses the implications of hybridity for strategic choices with products and businesses by focusing on the role of social business hybrids’ customers. In the conceptual framework, social identity theory explains how hybridity generates both positive and negative demand-side externalities. Thus, hybridity can be a source of competitive advantage in the marketplace, but also create hurdles to firms’ ability to scale up their business. Diversification represents a potential choice that simultaneously generates growth, preserves hybridity, and avoids negative demand-side externalities. This paper analyzes the optimal type, timing, and scope of such diversification.

Keywords: diversification; social business hybrids; growth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (25)

Downloads: (external link)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2016.1080 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:27:y:2016:i:5:p:1275-1289

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Organization Science from INFORMS Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Asher ().