Growth orientation in social enterprises

Abstract

This study explores growth orientation in the social entrepreneurship context through in-depth case studies in six Finnish social enterprises. In light of existing research on business growth and scaling up social enterprises and our data, we propose that willingness to grow is fairly strong among social entrepreneurs, and that growth is sought through various strong and intentional strategies. Growth orientation stems primarily from the entrepreneurs' social mission, but at the same time, the mission appears to narrow down options for growth paths. However, tensions between financial and social goals, often discussed in the social enterprise literature, did not appear as a form of conflict. Our study suggests that the social mission can be both a driver and a barrier of growth for social enterprises.