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The promise and problems of price subsidization in social entrepreneurship

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  • McMullen, Jeffery S.
  • Bergman, Brian J.

Abstract

Social entrepreneurship research has often focused on the benefits and challenges of designing hybrid organizations that integrate competing institutional logics to tackle social problems using market-based methods, especially in developing economies. Drawing on case evidence from the Safe Water for Africa program, we show how and why pricing new products at other than market prices offers a seductive but dangerous mechanism for managers seeking to pursue dual objectives in hybrid organizations. We identify five strategic and operational challenges with ethical implications that manifest as pricing dilemmas and show how and why they are likely to elicit moral dilemmas among stakeholders of social entrepreneurship who are not equally committed to both social and economic objectives.

Suggested Citation

  • McMullen, Jeffery S. & Bergman, Brian J., 2018. "The promise and problems of price subsidization in social entrepreneurship," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 61(4), pages 609-621.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bushor:v:61:y:2018:i:4:p:609-621
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2018.03.009
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    8. Mair, Johanna & Marti, Ignasi, 2009. "Entrepreneurship in and around institutional voids: A case study from Bangladesh," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 419-435, September.
    9. Jamie D. Collins & Jeffery S. McMullen & Christopher R. Reutzel, 2016. "Distributive justice, corruption, and entrepreneurial behavior," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 981-1006, December.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Gupta, Parul & Chauhan, Sumedha & Paul, Justin & Jaiswal, M.P., 2020. "Social entrepreneurship research: A review and future research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 209-229.
    3. Debmalya Mukherjee & Saumyaranjan Sahoo & Satish Kumar, 2023. "Two Decades of International Business and International Management Scholarship on Africa: A Review and Future Directions," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 63(6), pages 863-909, December.
    4. Juan C. Santamarta & Mª Dolores Storch de Gracia & Mª Ángeles Huerta Carrascosa & Margarita Martínez-Núñez & Celia de las Heras García & Noelia Cruz-Pérez, 2021. "Characterisation of Impact Funds and Their Potential in the Context of the 2030 Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, June.
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    6. Tucker, Reginald & Croom, Randall M. & Bacq, Sophie, 2019. "Feeling your pain, pursuing my gain: Assessing status-striving, empathy, and social entrepreneurship intent," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 12(C).
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    8. Tasneem Sadiq & Rob van Tulder & Karen Maas, 2022. "Building a Taxonomy of Hybridization: An Institutional Logics Perspective on Societal Impact," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-22, August.
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