The social-business hybrid organization

: the long-desired answer to the BOP dilemma?

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to understand how the hybrid character of social businesshybrids can contribute to their success on the BOP markets. To answer the research question,I conducted a comparative case study on two companies that can be categorized as socialbusiness hybrids and operate in BOP markets. I relied on secondary sources, which mainlyconsisted of secondary interviews and publicly available third-party sources. To analyze thedata collected, I used the framework "value-capturing elements" elaborated by von der Heydte(2020). The results of the study show that both investigated companies can contribute toovercome the challenges of BOP markets due to their hybrid institutional form. Moreover, thisresearch demonstrates that an institutional hybridity is most effective when it harmonizes andaligns with the company's mission. To particularly benefit from hybridity in BOP markets, the following elements prove to be particularly useful: achieving a competitive strategy, implementing value propositions and building a network of strategic partners.

Date of Award	13 Oct 2020
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Laure Leglise (Supervisor)