Enhancing value creation in social purpose organizations: Business models that leverage networks

Abstract

As social purpose organizations (SPOs) feature dual economic and social goals, contemporary research is beginning to grasp the importance of value creation being shared amongst network actors. However, how an SPO's business model can fully leverage the resources of others to enable and enhance value creation has not yet been fully explained. Drawing on interview data, video-graphic content analysis and secondary data, this study investigates the case of a German music festival to explore how shared value creation has been enhanced by moving from an organization-centric business model to instead become a platform for engagement with numerous other actor groups. This study contributes to the social enterprise literature by demonstrating that despite modest funding and minimal staffing, an organization can bring together a broad network of others to engage in resource integration and shared value creation for social good.