Impact creation approaches of community-based enterprises: A configurational analysis of enabling conditions

Abstract

This study investigates which local conditions enable community-based enterprises (CBEs) to create impact. Advancing our limited understanding of the various contexts that enable CBEs to tackle societal issues locally, we investigate supportive conditions across 77 CBEs driving the energy transition in their geographic community. Through qualitative comparative analysis, we identify four condition configurations for CBE impact creation. Across these configurations, we reveal transferable mechanisms helping CBEs to engage community members (Opportunity- and Community-anchoring) and handle the absence of a supportive condition (Circumventing and Compensating). Our study suggests how CBEs can combine these mechanisms to create impact in varied local contexts.