This thesis explores the phenomenon of the adoption of social enterprise models of practice by registered charities in England. In order to overcome resource shortfalls and to meet external statutory policy agendas, charities may be adopting business methods without a full understanding of the potential of business models to dilute their core mission and alter their operational practice and organisational structure. A case study approach is used to gain an in-depth understanding of the particular experiences of a specific charity. The case approach is extended to investigate the interplay between the case organisation and the policy implementation group that governs access to resources and support. An inductive analysis is conducted on interview data from respondents from both organisations. UK government policies are also examined, as are the historical antecedents for social enterprise adoption by charities. Adopting a critical management approach, this thesis draws on social origins theory and new institutional theories of organisational legitimacy to provide an understanding of why social enterprise models are being adopted by the case organisation and the impact of that adoption. This thesis contributes to the theoretical literature by introducing the concepts of 'mission holding', 'gate-keeping' and 'charitable enterprise' to the field of study, in order to provide a clear framework for exploration of the phenomena identified. Charitable enterprise identifies the adoption of enterprise activities by charitable organisations as part of their resource mix. It positions social enterprise as an activity, rather than as an organisational form. Empirically, this thesis contributes to the study of organisational change by illustrating the interplay between internal and external influences on decision-making, in this case choices to adopt social enterprise models of practice. The notion of sectoral and organisational independence is replaced here with the notion of interdependence, taking into account the historical interplay between the state and charitable sectors, drawing on the concept of non.-sovereign negotiated power.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:631356 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | MacDonald, Matthew |
| Publisher | Lancaster University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/71421/ |
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