Social Economy Organizations Research Articles

농촌의 사회적 경제 조직, 실태와 과제

농촌의 사회적 경제 조직, 실태와 과제

Orientación al mercado y tipología de las cooperativas agroalimentarias en base a la competitividad. Caso-estudio de las citrícolas españolas

La globalización ha recrudecido más si cabe la competencia en los mercados y las empresas deben afianzar y mejorar su posición competitiva para asegurar la supervivencia. Para ello resulta vital, entre otras cuestiones, velar por los intereses de los inversores al tiempo que cuidan de sus clientes. Las cooperativas sufren una coyuntura semejante respecto a sus socios y el mercado, es decir respecto a sus clientes internos (socios) y externos (mercado). El enfoque de las actividades y la estrategia de la cooperativa frente a esta dualidad determina su grado de orientación al mercado.Los estudios relacionados con la orientación al mercado en cooperativas son escasos en comparación con otras formas empresariales y han estado normalmente centrados en la figura de las cooperativas de segundo grado y circunscritos a sectores muy específicos.El sector citrícola español es uno de los más dinámicos y desarrollados del panorama productivo agrario. Su extensa experiencia comercial tanto a nivel doméstico como internacional confiere un carácter diferenciador a las entidades que operan en este subsector. Este trabajo analiza la posición de las cooperativas citrícolas españolas en relación a la orientación al mercado así como los factores de gestión y estrategia que están relacionadoscon ella. Para ello se utiliza una escala MARKOR, validada en estudios anteriores, sobre una muestra de 45 cooperativas.Se establece además una tipología de cooperativas citrícolas en base a los factores de competitividad que permiten ahondar en el conocimiento que existe sobre esta cuestión en entidades de economía social. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto un elevado grado de relación entre la innovación, el perfil del empresario y el conocimiento del entorno en relación con el grado de orientación al mercado.

문화 ･ 관광분야의 지역기반 사회적경제 조직의 관계망 - 춘천시 사회적경제 조직을 중심으로 -

문화 ･ 관광분야의 지역기반 사회적경제 조직의 관계망 - 춘천시 사회적경제 조직을 중심으로 -

ESS et ressources communes : vers la reconnaissance d’une diversité institutionnelle

Cet article vise à faire dialoguer les analyses sur la production de biens et services quasi collectifs par des organisations de l’économie sociale et solidaire (ESS) avec les travaux d’Ostrom sur les ressources communes, à partir de trois entrées : l’analyse des régimes de propriété comme faisceau de droits, la nature collective des biens et services fournis et la production collective de normes. Nous identifions les convergences et les divergences entre ces approches suscitant des interpellations croisées.

Acquaintance or partner? Social economy organizations, institutional logics and regional development in Australia

The social economy as a regional development actor is gaining greater attention given its purported ability to address social and environmental problems. This growth in interest is occurring within a global environment that is calling for a more holistic understanding of development compared to traditionally economic-centric conceptions. While regional development policies and practices have long considered for-profit businesses as agents for regional growth, there is a relatively limited understanding of the role of the social economy as a development actor. The institutional environment is a large determinant of all kinds of entrepreneurial activity, and therefore understanding the relationships between the social economy and broader regional development processes is warranted. This paper moves beyond suggestions of an economic-centric focus of regional development by utilizing institutional logics as a theoretical framework for understanding the role of social enterprises in regional development. A multiple case study of ten social enterprises in two regional locations in Australia suggests that social enterprises can represent competing logics to economic-centric institutional values and systems. The paper argues that dominant institutional logics can promote or constrain the inter-play between the social and the economic aspects of development, in the context of social enterprises.

The Sustainability of Social Enterprises

During recent years we have witnessed a growing interest in Romania for social economy, as a result of the increasing interest of EU towards the field and the financing lines as SOP HRD 2007-2013, and as well for developing a legal framework on social economy. In Romania, many of the social economy organizations are dependent on these sources of funding, which is a major obstacle to long term sustainability of the sector. In this context, the paper aims to analyse the strategies of social enterprises established under the Priority Axis 6 of SOP HRD to ensure sustainability, on the assumption that once the funding ends they face significant risks and adopt different strategies in order to develop. The sustainability of social enterprises will be explored from three perspectives: (1) financial, seeking to identify the strategies of social enterprises to attract new funding, (2) in terms of consistency of the social enterprise with its initial objectives and principles and (3) from the point of view of the social enterprises' impact on vulnerable groups and the community. The analysis will be based on data from sociological researches on social economy entities in Romania, carried out between 2009 and 2014.

Reciprocal Relationships: The Role of Government and the Social Economy in the Co-construction of Social Policy in Atlantic Canada

This paper reports on research exploring the contribution to social policy of social economy organizations (SEOs) in Atlantic Canada. Of particular interest is whether SEOs and government are engaged in what we have termed “reciprocal relationships,” through inclusive, cross-sector alliances linked to improved policy planning and decision-making. Initial findings suggest that reciprocity of relationships between government and SEOs to enhance policy solutions and service provision is not yet fully realized and that SEOs remain structurally marginalized in the design and implementation of policy. The paper points to investment in appropriate support mechanisms to make government-SEO alliances meaningful and more durable.

Improvement of Social Capital in Daejeon through Social Economy-organizations : Focusing on the Cases of Daejeon

본 연구에서는 대전광역시에서 활동하고 있는 사회적기업과 마을기업 사례를 통해 이들이 어떻게 지역사회의 사회자본을 확장하고 있는지, 그리고 이렇게 형성된 사회자본이 어떠한 정책적 시사점을 주는지를 밝혀 보고자 했다. 이를 위해 현재 대전지역에서 활발하게 활동하고 있는 사회적기업 〈I’m Asia〉와 마을기업 〈관저품앗이공동체〉 두 사례를 연구대상으로 선정하였다. 연구결과를 정리해 보면, 사회적기업 〈I’m Asia〉는 지역사회의 네트워크를 활성화하고, 결혼이주여성들의 지역사회 참여를 독려하며, 다문화에 대한 관용적 태도를 확산하는 방식으로 지역사회의 사회자본을 증진한다. 그리고 마을기업 〈관저품앗이공동체〉는 지역사회의 사이버 네트워크를 활성화하고, 마을의 공적 의제를 만들어내며, 주민자치역량을 강화하는 방식으로 지역사회의 사회자본을 증진시킨다. 이렇게 형성된 사회자본은 정책적으로 다음과 같이 활용할 수 있다. 첫째, 사회자본은 이질적인 집단 및 개인을 연결하여 지역사회의 자원과 정보를 효과적으로 활용할 수 있도록 도와준다. 둘째, 사회자본은 경제자본과 인적자본을 강화하는 자원으로 활용할 수 있다. 셋째, 사회자본은 민관협력의 파트너인 주민들의 자치역량으로도 활용할 수 있다.<BR><BR>

Accounting for Social Value

Accounting for Social Value. Edited by L Mook. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press, 2013. 272 pp. ISBN: 9781442611467.Laurie Mook's recent edited collection of essays on social accounting practices, Accounting For Social Value (2013), presents social accounting as a complex knowledge practice with implications both for social economy organizations and society at large. Building on her rather substantive list of influential publications in the field, Mook brings together a series of essays that re-imagine accounting for specialists and non-specialists alike. Social accounting is a practice defined as "a systematic analysis of the effects of an organization on its communities of interest or stakeholders, with stakeholder input as part of the data that are analyzed for the accounting statement" (Quarter, Mook, & Richmond, 2007, p. xxx). It has as its intention the broad measurement of an organization's performance (including economic, social, and environmental factors), and has, as its audience, a broad number of groups, extending to stakeholders throughout the community at large.In this collection, Mook introduces the history of social accounting practices through three historical waves (1970s, 1990s onward, and 2000s onward) in terms of their methodology, expectations, and applicability. Each subsequent essay engages specific instantiations of social accounting practices "on the ground." In so doing, they each explore the successes and failures of social accounting practices, the challenges of implementation and establishing a common language of account, and the relevance of social accounting for contemporary social economy organizations.As Max Weber pointed out in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905), the peculiarity and pervasiveness of the Occidental capitalist form was in part a consequence of rational bookkeeping. Indeed, accounting as a knowledge practice both shapes and transforms economic practices, at the same time as it attempts to reflect the "truth," or the measurable content, of the economic world. The dialectical nature of accounting as a social practice has been explored by many in the field (e.g., Bebbington, Brown, Frame, & Thomson, 2007; Hopper, Storey, & Wilmott, 1987; Morgan, 1988), and yet Chapter 9 in this volume, "The Role of Intermediaries in Social Accounting" by Katherine Ruff, brings to light the shifting register of truth in the history of accounting. What today appears to be a universally valid truth (e.g., the mathematical calculation of profit by means of financial accounting) was, at its inception, perceived as an immensely complex, even impossible, task. Ruff points out that "a common understanding of profit had to be created" (p. 232) before there could be a relative degree of uniformity in financial accounting. In much the same way, we see throughout all the essays in this collection that social value will need to be collectively imagined in order to create a common language with which to assess it. For such a reason the need for strong intermediaries, those who "distill complex information" (p. 243) but are neither the stakeholders nor members of the organization at hand, runs as a theme throughout this collection. Quite poignantly, Bryn Sadownik (Chapter 6, "The Demonstrating Value Initiative") shows the importance of developing reporting and measurement mechanisms by exploring how the Demonstrating Value Framework (the result of a Vancouver community- based initiative that started up in 2004) "guides social enterprises to fully identify their information needs for managing, planning and demonstrating their value" (p. 140).A fundamental contradiction runs throughout the text, however, whereby effective social accounting practices are heralded in terms of the revenue-oriented benefits they hold for the social economy organizations that use them. While stakeholder engagement and community inclusion are also lauded under the general banner of increased democratic participation in economic structures, ultimately the attraction of greater capital investment, publicity, and membership are the most frequently cited incentives to social accounting practices. …

SROI in practice: the Wooden Canal Boat Society

Purpose – The purpose of this case study is to highlight the complexities involved in conducting a social return on investment (SROI) forecast in a small social enterprise, The Wooden Canal Boat Society. Design/methodology/approach – This SROI forecast was a collaborative exercise between Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council and the Wooden Canal Boat Society. A case study methodology has been adopted in order to allow the voice of the first author, from the Local Authority, to come through. Findings – The findings highlight that the process of scoping; gathering and analysing information; engaging with stakeholders and assigning evidence against proxies (London centric) is challenging and exhausting, yet it provides a rich learning experience for all those involved. The accuracy of the ratio is compromised and implicated by the time and resources that are available to invest the subjectivity of the data behind the ratio the judgements and decisions over who and how to include/exclude individuals from the SROI forecast. In short, the Wooden Canal Boat Society SROI forecast proved to be the tipping point in a successful grant application. However, SROI is not something the Local Authority are set to embrace more widely or would particularly recommend for the vast majority of their local social economy organisations. Research limitations/implications – As a case study paper, the authors do not seek to generalise. The case provides the reader with a stakeholder informed account of the experiences of being involved in a forecast SROI from the perspective of the first author from the Local Authority. In times of political change and economic austerity the climate in the UK social economy has significantly altered, particularly in the marketisation of services and funding provisions for health and social care. One implication of this shift that is reflected in the paper is Local Authority thinking in light of the Social Value Act, which passed through the UK Parliament in 2012. Originality/value – The value of this case study provides academics and practitioners with an alternative perspective and rich commentary of the first author's narrative and reflections on the process of SROI and the dynamics involved in arriving at the ratio.

Role of the Social Economy to Increase Social Inclusion

The progress achieved by the social economy differs within the European Union from one member state to another member state because the critical situations, the actions, the institutional and legal framework, the overall context of the social economy are different in each individual European country. Despite this lack of homogeneity in this field, there are many social economy organisations which actually contribute to the social cohesion, there are successfully accomplished programs and activities aiming the social integration of the vulnerable groups and which support actively the fight against social exclusion. Several independent materials have been studied (guidebooks, reports, working documents etc.) in order to identify the different mechanisms for the transfer of social economy information related to improvement of the social inclusion at the local level. The approach of social inclusion in a structured and innovating manner specific to the social economy is a common coordinate for most EU member states within the context of the current economic crisis.

The Emergence of the Empresas Recuperadas Por Sus Trabajadores: A Political Economic and Sociological Appraisal of Two Decades of Self-Management in Argentina

The crisis of Argentina’s neoliberal model that escalated throughout the 1990s, driven in part by the zealousness of how IMF-sanctioned structural reforms were implemented, would eventually culminate in the model’s temporary implosion over the years spanning the turn of the millennium. For workers living through this crisis, traditional union tactics would prove unresponsive to the neoliberal juggernaut, while the state was on the defensive as business bankruptcy, informal work, unemployment, and poverty rates soared to unprecedented levels during this period. But the crisis of neoliberalism that so deeply affected the everyday lives of Argentina’s working people and their families also proved to be, for some of them, an opening for experimenting with other possibilities for organizing production and economic life. As businesses increasingly failed, more and more workers from a broad cross-section of Argentina’s urban-based economy began taking matters into their own hands by occupying and self-managing the troubled workplaces that had been employing them as worker cooperatives. Today throughout Argentina, almost 9,500 workers selfmanage over 200 empresas recuperadas por sus trabajadores (worker-recuperated enterprises, or ERTs) in sectors as varied as printing and publishing, media, metallurgy, health provisioning, foodstuffs, shipbuilding, waste management, construction, education, tourism, and energy. The aim of this working paper is to provide a political economic and sociological overview of the rise and establishment of ERTs in Argentina over the past two decades. It does so in order to introduce ERTs to readers that might not be familiar with the Argentine experience of workplace conversions to worker cooperatives and their recent historical emergence. It also gives context to what is arguably, as I will detail in forthcoming research, a new form of hybrid social economy organization – a “solidarity worker cooperative/work integration social enterprise.” In this respect, ERTs are a type of hybrid labour-managed firm that uniquely formed, in the Argentine political economic and sociological context, from out of the takeover and conversion of a formerly investor-owned or proprietary business into a worker cooperative by workers themselves.

Resource-Based View (RBV) of Unincorporated Social Economy Organizations

ABSTRACT This article examines three related questions about unincorporated social economy organizations (USEOs): What are the characteristics of these social economy organizations? What is the unique bundle of resources that gives rise to and sustains their operations? Is there evidence of bricolage in these organizations? The findings suggest that USEOs are driven foremost by a social mission. USEOs provide diverse services and products including economic and specialized social activities, which are integral to the social fabric of society. The results also show that they combine and leverage two core resources – social capital and human capital – to support the operations of their organizations. Moreover they appear to draw on whatever resources are at their disposal to support the activities of the organization. This suggests that USEOs are involved in bricolage activities, which could explain the longevity of many of the organizations. RÉSUMÉ Cet article répond à trois questions étroitement liées sur les organismes d’économie sociale non constitués en société : Quelles sont les caractéristiques de ces organismes? Quelles sont les ressources particulières qui leur permettent de fonctionner? Ces organismes ont-ils recours au bricolage (dans le sens que Claude Lévi-Strauss prête à ce mot)? Les résultats indiquent qu’une mission sociale est ce qui motive les organismes d’économie sociale non enregistrés. Ces derniers fournissent une diversité de produits et services, y compris des activités économiques et sociales spécialisées qui sont essentielles pour la solidarité sociale. Les résultats montrent aussi que ces organismes combinent deux ressources clés – le capital social et le capital humain – afin d’appuyer le bon fonctionnement de leurs organisations. En outre, pour ce faire, ils ont apparemment recours à toute ressource qui soit à leur portée. Cette dernière pratique indique que les organismes d’économie sociale non constitués en société mènent vraisemblablement des activités de bricolage, ce qui pourrait expliquer pourquoi bon nombre de leurs organisations ont si longue vie.

Situating the eco-social economy: conservation initiatives and environmental organizations as catalysts for social and economic development

The social economy is a third sector of the economy, besides the public and private sectors, that provides critical social and economic services to society. Though there is broad recognition that both society and economy are dependent on functioning and healthy ecosystems, theories and definitions of the social economy rarely include reference to environmental and conservation-focused activities or outcomes. This paper empirically situates the concept of an eco-social economy within the context of a community conservation initiative. Through a case study of the Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation and the Thaidene Nene Protected Area in northern Canada, this paper demonstrates that: (i) for indigenous people, conservation is as much a social, economic, political, and cultural endeavour as it is about the protection of nature; (ii) outside environmental non-governmental organizations are also aligning their conservation mandates with the broader social, economic, and cultural goals of northern indigenous communities; and (iii) local social economy organizations are emerging to advocate for conservation as a means to achieve social and economic development ends. These examples compel us to envisage a social economy that incorporates environmental organizations and conservation initiatives and movements and that makes explicit a distinct eco-social economy. This theoretical concept has global applicability.

As formas de comercialização na economia social e solidária e os princípios de comportamento econômico de Polanyi

The purpose of this paper is to explore the specificities of social and solidarity economy organizations that combine social mission with economic activities in the market. Empirical observation reveals that these organizations, being embedded in a logic market, adopt different forms of commercialization that enable them to sell products and services but always serving a social objective. In order to understand how such forms of commercialization emerge and what their characteristics are, this paper suggests a theoretical framework based on Polanyi’s principles of economic behavior. These principles reveal the existence of three economic regimes and three types of resources that are hybridized by social and solidarity economy organizations, and explain their origins, their roles in the economy, and finally their four hybrid forms of commercialization: not related, related, integrated and incorporated. The proposed typology goes beyond a simple description of what can be empirically observed, and consists in a first attempt at theorizing the issue of hybridization of economic activities in the social and solidarity economy. Besides contributing to the understanding of the complexity and diversity that define the development of social and solidarity economy, this theoretical framework can be helpful in identifying important topics for further research when applied to different national contexts. Key words: social and solidarity economy, commercialization, mission, economic activity, Polanyi.

The Social Economy: Working Alternatives in a Globalizing Era

The Social Economy: Working Alternatives in a Globalizing Era. By Hasmet M. Uluorta. New York, NY: Routledge, 2009. 256 pp. ISBN 9780415775939Motivated by what he identifies as a "global crisis of reproduction," Hasmet M. Uluorta explores the emerging role of the social economy in the paradigmatic shiftfrom that of "employment" to that of "work"; a shiftwhich has produced changes in what kinds of labour workers expend and how their labour power is understood. Having become increasingly precarious in the market-driven economy, the conception of labour has changed from rational to reflexive. This shiftis demonstrated in a change in workers' employment motives from purely financially-driven ones toward increasingly socially-conscious motivations, involving both paid and non-paid labour. The growth of the social economy and a changing understanding of labour are the book's central themes: the transition from paid employment-derived identity to an emerging consciousness of being-in-theworld- with-others (discussed further below). Uluorta develops a theoretical framework for conceptualizing these changes, drawing from Marxist philosophical traditions and testing against an original empirical study.Uluorta ultimately suggests that the gradual withdrawal of the state from social programs since the 1970s, in conjunction with the rise of precarious employment as a normative yet disadvantaged status, has prompted both the need for, and desire of, workers to engage in labour differently. Specifically, workers are now seeking out opportunities to use their labour in a more socially meaningful way. This argument is strengthened by an exhaustive quantitative study in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that demonstrates substantial growth of the social economy. Uluorta outlines three primary aims for this book: providing practical insights to encourage further implementation of alternative working practices; providing an innovative theoretical and empirical framework to analyze this paradigm shift; and providing a useful reference point for future research.Much of the book is spent tracking the paradigmatic shiftfrom "employment" to "work," its historical trajectory and the role of the social economy. The (post-War, Fordist) employment paradigm, spanning from the 1940s to the 1970s, is characterized by two features: (1) the market-driven economy; and (2) government commitment to full employment, both of which featured the domination of Taylorist factory and assembly line labour by a primarily male workforce. This produced what Uluorta calls "rational" employment. As the paid labour market and state sectors underwent major changes in the 1970s, a movement away from "employment" and toward "work" was spurred. Uluorta suggests that this movement consists of an intersection of social, economic, and political changes - namely, global economic restructuring toward a service and knowledge-based economy, the mass entry of women into paid labour, the expansion of working hours, employer demands for an increasingly flexible workforce, and the shiftaway from welfare state principles - which produced an economy and a workforce very different from that of the previous "employment" paradigm. He notes that this shifthas resulted in workers requiring extra support and assistance (such as that offered by social economy organizations), and seeking more meaningful and reflexive labour experiences.The theories and ideas presented in the book are important both scholarly and practically. Uluorta illustrates the value of non-paid work in a predominantly market economy through a unique and comprehensive theory of "economy" and economic activity, ideas that have been similarly approached in feminist literature (see, for example, Waring, 1999). Uluorta comprehensively develops his key concepts throughout the book, weaving together ideas of "employment," "work," and being-in-the-world-with-others, conceptualizations that guide the reader through the history of - and meaning behind - labour in our globalizing era. …

Trends and Challenges for Social Enterprises in Romania

Abstract: Over the last years, the interest for the potential of social economy organisations to support and produce economic and social development has increased substantially. Against the background of this increased interest in the area, the interest for the research of this economic sector having specific characteristics and grouping various organisations under the same identity has also increased. Starting from recent research, the main purpose of this article is to describe the landscape of social economy actors and the key elements in the evolution of the social enterprises in Romania. In the first part, we present structured information about the status quo of social economy entities such as they appear by analyzing the data collected at national level by the National Institute of Statistics and by analyzing the juridical and institutional framework of each type of organization. The analysis mainly focuses on three types of organisations – cooperatives, NGOs with an economic activity and mutual organisations. In the second part, the authors identify and analyze several key policy fields enabling the development of social economy actors. The last part of the review is dedicated to a discussion concerning the development of a specific policy framework to support the social enterprises in Romania.

Knowledge management and its critical factors in social economy organizations

PurposeThis research aims to present and empirically validate a conceptual model for social economy organizations that includes organizational commitment, knowledge‐centered culture, and training as critical variables for the success of formal and informal knowledge management practices.Design/methodology/approachThe research is a cross‐sectional study and involved collection of quantitative data. The sample is made up of Portuguese organizations belonging to the social economy sector. The survey consisted of 205 employees. Path analysis was applied, using maximum‐likelihood estimation procedures.FindingsPath analysis results show that the proposed model has a good fit with the data. Training and knowledge management practices are a function of knowledge‐centered culture and organizational commitment.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is focused on social economy organizations, therefore generalization of results to other sectors must be cautious. Although a comprehensible model is presented, it does not cover an exhaustive list of critical factors for knowledge management. Additionally, this research is of a cross‐sectional nature, which does not capture dynamic changes.Practical implicationsThe research contributes to the existing literature about the critical factors of knowledge management. Social economy organizations that are developing knowledge management practices should attend to the predominant type of organizational commitment and should base their training policies on a knowledge‐centered culture.Originality/valueEmpirical evidence obtained in this study will be of use not only to social economy organizations wanting to become knowledge management ones, but also to researchers wanting to develop a more comprehensive framework of factors that influence (positively or negatively) knowledge management, specifically within social economy organizations.

Scaling up alternative food networks: farmers’ markets and the role of clustering in western Canada

Farmers’ markets, often structured as non-profit or cooperative organizations, play a prominent role in emerging alternative food networks of western Canada. The contribution of these social economy organizations to network development may relate, in part, to the process of regional clustering. In this study we explore the nature and significance of farmers’ market clustering in the western Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, focusing on the possible connection between clustering and a “scaling up” of alternative food networks. Survey and interview results from four regional clusters indicate that in addition to spatial agglomeration, dynamic processes of interaction and knowledge exchange are occurring and are shaped by vendor mobility as well as collaborative and competitive forces. Horizontal and vertical collaborations are resulting in innovative strategies to address challenges of scale, scope, infrastructure, and organizational capacity that are prevalent in alternative food networks. Government support for market clustering has been modest to date but, we argue, could play a more prominent role in facilitating cluster development as part of a broader collaborative strategy involving public, private, and social economy sectors in the scaling up of alternative food networks.

Internal and external pressures

PurposeThis study aims to investigate how an organic cotton production network learns to maintain its hybrid network and its sustainability in the face of internal and external pressures.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative case study was conducted in Justa Trama, a Brazilian‐based organic cotton production network formed by six members with different roles and organisational logics.FindingsThe study contributes to the literature on hybrid organisations by suggesting that in the case of networks, a compromise strategy is required at the internal level and a manipulation strategy is required at the external level. The network has to learn how to engineer a compromise among internal members and to enforce change among external institutions to maintain its sustainability.Social implicationsThe study was performed in Brazil, a country with serious social and environmental problems. The study thus informs managers of social economy organisations on how to deal with internal and external pressures to maintain their organisation's sustainability as well as policy makers on the importance of these alternative organisations and the importance of specific legislation to stimulate this type of initiative.Originality/valueThe body of research on how hybrid organisations learn to deal with the mutual influence of internal organisational responses and changes in external institutions is limited. Furthermore, this mutual influence has rarely been studied in the context of networks, in which multiple members have to work together to achieve organisational and network‐level objectives as well as to respond to institutional pressures.