Please rotate your device to landscape mode to view the charts.

Turning rebellion into money? Social entrepreneurship as the strategic performance of systems change

Journal: Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal

Date: 2023

Author: Simon Teasdale, Michael J. Roy, Alex Nicholls, Chantal Hervieux

Abstract:
Research SummaryCritical scholars recognize a disjuncture between the problems identified by social entrepreneurs and the solutions they propose. Existing theory treats this as a problem to be rectified at the organizational level. In this essay, we widen attention to the macro-oriented systems change strategies of social entrepreneurs. We develop a dynamic typology showing how strategies are reassembled over time to stimulate or deflect desire for systems change. Deriving inspiration from Goffman, we theorize the ways that different types of systems change actor perform systems change via interaction with their environments. Drawing on illustrative cases on the boundaries of social entrepreneurship, we show how the collective action frameworks developed by systems change actors can be adapted and repurposed by their (systems) audiences: effectively turning rebellion into money.Managerial SummarySocial entrepreneurs often call for systems change to tackle wicked problems such as poverty or climate change. However, the strategies they propose for tackling these problems, such as lending money to poor people are considerably less radical. In this essay, we identify three types of systems change actor distinguished by the degree of systems change they call for. We trace their ideas over time to illustrate how strategies are mediated, and subsequently repurposed through interaction with the systems they seek to change. In conclusion, we call upon researchers and social entrepreneurs to widen their perspectives to incorporate more radical ideas and potentials for systems change, and for greater attention to be devoted to scrutinizing and protecting the integrity of systems change strategies.

Link: Google Scholar

Background and Context

The Authenticity Gap

Social entrepreneurs often claim to seek disruptive systems change but typically implement solutions that merely patch over deficiencies in existing systems.

Theoretical Framework

The authors develop a dynamic typology showing how systems change strategies are reassembled over time through interaction with different audiences.

Research Approach

The study draws on three illustrative cases operating at the boundaries of social entrepreneurship: Fair Trade, Microfinance, and Extinction Rebellion (XR).

Three Types of Systems Change Actors and Their Framing Strategies

Frame Insurgent Frame Blender Frame Bricoleur Strategy: Frame Shifting Strategy: Frame Blending Strategy: Frame Decoupling Second-Order Change First-Order Change Systems Stability Example: Extinction Rebellion Example: Fair Trade Example: Commercial Microfinance
  • Frame insurgents pursue second-order systems change by replacing existing systems of meaning with new ones.
  • Frame blenders combine elements from different frames to achieve incremental first-order change within existing systems.
  • Frame bricoleurs selectively decouple diagnoses and prognoses to maintain organizational stability rather than change systems.

Social Entrepreneurship as Strategic Performance of Systems Change

Diagnostic Frame Prognostic Frame Motivational Frame Collective Action Framework Internal Frame Disputes External Counterframing Modified Framework
  • Systems change actors construct collective action frameworks from diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational frames.
  • These frameworks are continuously modified through interaction with internal audiences (via frame disputes) and external audiences (via counterframing).
  • The performance of systems change is a dynamic process where frameworks are reassembled over time.

Microfinance's Evolution from Radical Change to Systems Preservation

19th Century Late 20th Century Early 21st Century Mutual Building Societies People poor due to exploitation by capital Workers build alternative financial system Grameen Bank People poor due to lack of credit access Nonprofits offer subsidized loans Commercial Microfinance People poor due to lack of credit access Banks lend at commercial rates Intended Outcome: Second-Order Change Intended Outcome: First-Order Change Actual Outcome: Systems Stability
  • Microfinance evolved from radical mutual building societies challenging capitalism to commercial banking preserving the status quo.
  • The diagnostic frame shifted from "exploitation by capital" to "lack of credit access," fundamentally changing the problem definition.
  • Commercial microfinance maintains Yunus's diagnosis but detaches it from his original prognostic frame of subsidized lending.

The Widening Gap Between Problem Diagnosis and Solution Prognosis

PROBLEM DIAGNOSIS Climate Crisis is Existential Requires Urgent Action Capitalism is a "Toxic System" SOLUTION PROGNOSIS Green Consumerism Corporate Sustainability Initiatives Technical Fixes Within Capitalism ORIGINAL INTENT Radical Systems Change Replace Unjust Structures Build New Equitable Systems CO-OPTED OUTCOME Incremental Change Preserve Existing Systems "Turning Rebellion Into Money"
  • Critical scholars identify a disjuncture between radical problem diagnoses and incremental solution prognoses in social entrepreneurship.
  • Originally disruptive ideas are repackaged as solutions that reinforce rather than challenge existing systems.
  • This authenticity gap emerges during interactions with audiences and represents "turning rebellion into money".

How Audiences Become Actors in Reshaping Systems Change Strategies

Frame Insurgent Creates Radical Ideas Frame Blender Moderates & Combines Ideas Frame Bricoleur Repurposes for Stability Ideas Flow Ideas Flow Rebel Audience Seeks Change Systems Audience Resists Change Commercial Audience Seeks Profit
  • Audiences eventually become actors in their own right, modifying and reperforming collective action frameworks.
  • Commercial audiences can repurpose radical ideas from frame insurgents to maintain system stability.
  • This dynamic process explains why original social entrepreneurs often lose control of their systems change strategies.

Contribution and Implications

  • Social entrepreneurship research must widen its focus beyond organizational stability to examine systems change strategies.
  • More attention should be devoted to how collective action frameworks are constructed and modified over time.
  • Practitioners should scrutinize and protect the integrity of their systems change strategies to prevent co-option.
  • The social entrepreneurship field needs to incorporate more radical perspectives that enable second-order systems change.

Data Sources

  • Visualization 1 was derived from Table 1 showing systems change actors, framing strategies, and systems change possibilities.
  • Visualization 2 was constructed from the article's theoretical framework on collective action frameworks and strategic performance.
  • Visualization 3 was based on Table 3 showing the temporal journey of microfinance as a collective action framework.
  • Visualizations 4 and 5 were developed from the article's conceptual analysis of the authenticity gap and audience transformation.