Cross-Pollinating in the Beehive: Embracing Hybridity at a Social Entrepreneurship Coworking Space

Abstract

How does participating in a coworking space enable entrepreneurs to embrace plural institutional logics and engage in “hybrid venturing”? To explore this question, our research draws on a longitudinal study of a French coworking space gathering entrepreneurs who seek to reconcile social and commercial logics in the context of a socially entrepreneurial project. As social entrepreneurs generally lack pre- established patterns specific to this “hybrid” venturing mode, we show that the interactions at the coworking space help them embrace hybridity through (1) identifying with a community of peer, like- minded entrepreneurs; (2) collectively learning about and experimenting with this venturing mode, through their own projects but also through the coworking space as a hybrid venture in itself; and (3) connecting with and contributing to building the emerging ecosystem around hybrid venturing. The perception of the coworking experience, however, varies depending on the previous background of the entrepreneurs and in particular their familiarity with each of the logics at play. These findings contribute to the literatures on hybrid venturing and organizing, coworking spaces, and social entrepreneurship.