Studying the successful startup of a social enterprise: a case study of Lion's Thread Uganda

Abstract

Social enterprises are hybrid companies that combine non-profit and for-profit missions into one organisation. There is limited literature on these nascent organisations, and the hybrid nature of these companies makes their management more complicated. This case study research looked at the successful start-up phase of Lion's Thread, a social enterprise with production operations in Uganda and sales in the USA. Collective action was instrumental in the development of this social enterprise, as many individuals worked together to achieve the company's progress. Effectuation was strongly present in this case where the solution was shaped based on the resources available in the local environment. Structuration theory defines this social enterprise as the leaders became embedded in the local environment to determine resource availability, recognised opportunities, worked with and restructured systems, and through a collective action approach, created social value.