Institutional logics and social enterprises: Entry mode choices of foreign hospitals in China

Abstract

When social enterprises, being defined by their social mission and profitability, internationalize, they need to respond to institutional logics in the host country. By juxtaposing institutional logic and entry mode choice literature, this paper shows how social enterprises accommodate different institutional logics when they enter foreign markets. We collected data on Chinese healthcare reform, governmental policies and their changes, and conducted 36 in-depth interviews and three expert group meetings. By analyzing five non-Chinese hospitals entering China, we show how social enterprises, as hybrid organizations, respond to governmental, commercial, and social institutional logics, when entering a foreign market.