Scaling Social Entrepreneurial Impact

Abstract: Today's world is facing fundamental challenges. One concept of increasing popularity to fight these challenges is social entrepreneurship - addressing social goals with business means. One of the main issues within the field is the growth or scaling of social entrepreneurial impact. Even though there are several theoretical approaches to scaling, there is no holistic framework considering the individual context of the social entrepreneur. How do social entrepreneurs find a suitable way to scale their impact Two in-depth case studies have been chosen to analyze this question.In order to provide a holistic framework, several existing theories are combined, providing a preliminary theoretical explanation to the questions (i) how scaling forms are chosen, and (ii) how scaling activities are prioritized. By applying the framework to the case studies, it can be tested and extended.The impact of individual conditions on the choice of scaling form assumed in the framework could be confirmed by empirical data. However, the significance of the drivers of scaling varies considerably; some relation can be confirmed between the nature of the drivers of scaling and the scaling form. Furthermore, there are indications that the framework could be extended by the following findings: Readiness and receptivity might be overestimated in theory, the most suitable scaling form changes over time, potential downsides of a scaling form do not prevent from choosing it, there is a need for local adaptation and the importance of non-monetary return within the organization seems to be underestimated. While the prioritization of the drivers of scaling rather seems to be related to the business model than as assumed to the scaling form, some evidence could be found that the scaling form determines the nature of certain drivers of scaling.