Inherent Organizational Tensions as a Distinctive Element of the Nature of Social Business

Abstract

Social Business (SB) are seen as profitable organizations that has both a social purpose and, in some cases, an environmental purpose. The need to reconcile these goals can cause SB to experience specific organizational tensions in their activities. In this sense, the complexity of this field, due to its apparently axiomatic character, is precisely the motivational factor of this research that aims to understand the tensions related to SB. Through a literature review in NS and empirical findings from a multiple case study, it was possible to identify that NSs face unique challenges by combining different objectives. The results of this research demonstrate that the tensions that occur in the four organizational dimensions identified in the studies of Smith, Gonin and Besharov (2013) provide a permanent imbalance characteristic of this organizational type that distinguishes it from organizations from other sectors of society: performance-related tensions, organizational aspects, belonging and learning, which, according to the theoretical review and empirical findings, are inherent to NS.