Start-Up of a Social Enterprise: Case Study of Lion's Thread Uganda

Abstract

Social enterprises are emerging globally as economic approaches to solving problems in society. Social enterprises are hybrid companies that combine both non-profit and for-profit missions into one organization. There is limited literature on these nascent organizations, and the hybrid nature of these companies makes their management much more complicated. This case study research looked at the start-up phase of Lion’s Thread, a social enterprise with production operations in Uganda and sales in the United States (U.S.), to determine factors for progress. Collective action is seen as instrumental in the development of this social enterprise, as many individuals worked together to achieve the company’s progress. Effectuation was strongly present in this case where the solution is shaped based on the resources available in the local environment. Leaders of this social enterprise as they became embedded in the local environment and determined resource availability, recognized opportunities, worked with and restructured systems, and through a collective action approach, created social value. Lastly, we found in this bi-cultural context, adapting the performance goals and expectations of the social enterprise was needed.