Tensions in nascent social enterprises: Looking beyond the social-economic duality

Hybrid organizations, social enterprises in particular, have often been described as crystallizing tensions due to the institutional pluralism they seek to integrate internally. This paper aims to identify, locate and explain the organizational tensions faced by nascent social entrepreneurial teams through a multiple-case study. The findings show that the types and patterns of tensions differ according to team size and to the strength of ties binding team members. In the specific context of social enterprises, the research discriminates between mutual interest and general interest social mission, which is identified as a factor influencing tension development. Further, the analysis suggests that tensions tend to be located within a particular logic (social welfare in this case) rather than between logics, as often suggested in the literature. As such, it contributes to the literatures on hybrid organizations and social enterprises by portraying more complex interplays between and within plural – particularly social and commercial – logics.