Spirituality and the social enterprise: a paradox lens

This chapter theorizes spirituality in the social enterprise through a paradox lens. It discusses how: (1) social enterprises are different but potentially incorporate a strong spiritual dimension; (2) because of organizational differences, spirituality manifests in different ways in different types of social organizations (e.g., the spiritual dimension of a B-Corp is more conceptual, an idea, whereas in a community organization, it is direct, almost palpable); (3) expressions of organizational spirituality may have a paradoxical component. We defend that, for these reasons, the management of social enterprises incorporates a consideration of the spiritual dimension as well as of the paradoxes that emerge from tackling the spiritual (mission-based) and pragmatic (commerce-based) logics that are involved. Social enterprises are possibly more affected by denser nets of competing demands – which turns them into valuable sources of learning for other companies regarding how to live with paradox.