Accelerating global biodiversity loss threatens ecosystems and human livelihoods, particularly in high-risk protected areas like East Africa’s Niassa Special Reserve, where local communities depend on shared resources. Hybrid businesses, blending social and commercial objectives, offer a sustainable approach to address such conservation challenges that traditional models fail to tackle. This study investigates how tourism-based hybrid organisations can structure their business models to balance financial sustainability with conservation goals amidst environmental volatility and complex stakeholder dynamics. To unveil insights, a qualitative case study of Luwire, a hybrid adventure organisation in Niassa, was conducted. Findings reveal four strategic dimensions of Luwire’s hybrid model: sustaining a hybrid mission via revenue diversification, driving conservation through community engagement, navigating legitimacy challenges, and managing governance tensions. Luwire’s integration of hunting revenue with conservation and community benefits demonstrates SEMC’s utility but highlights limitations in addressing extreme volatility and community centrality.This research advances hybrid organisation theory and provides practical strategies for conservation enterprises operating in similar settings. Limitations include the single-case focus, suggesting future multi-case studies with quantitative validation.
- Hybrid business models
- Strategy conservation
- Dual mission
- Social enterprise model canvas
- Community-based natural resource management
- Sustainability
- Mestrado em Gestão e Administração de Empresas
Structuring hybrid business models for conservation and sustainability: a case study of Luwire
Santos, M. A. P. (Student). 23 Jun 2025
Student thesis: Master's Thesis
