The evolution of an organizational form from social enterprise to territory enterprise

The literature has extensively studied the creation, development and scaling up of social enterprises. However, the question of how social enterprises change over time has scarcely been examined. To best respond to its mission and evolving social issues, a social enterprise sometimes has to modify its organizational form. Based on a single case study of the Archer Group, which is located in Romans-sur-Isère (France), we scrutinize how the group’s founder and leader gradually transformed a work integration social enterprise (WISE) into a ‘territory enterprise’ whose goal is to mobilize the entire local community in service of sustainable local development. By using a process approach, the study investigates a social enterprise’s evolution to adapt to the challenges of the territory, as well as the actions of an institutional entrepreneur. By introducing the concept of a territory enterprise, the study contributes to the literature on social enterprises and how they relate to place.