Social Enterprises' Quest for Legitimacy through Organizational Identity

Abstract

The aim of the study of social enterprises in Turkey, is to reveal the patterns of organizational identity and that they are investigating them in an effort to obtain a kind of legitimacy with through organizational identity. The data obtained from interviews with thirteen social entrepreneurs were analyzed in NVivo 12 qualitative data analysis program. The results show that the central characteristics of the social enterprises in the sample are gathered under the social mission theme. The most frequently emphasized words were found to be "woman" and "social", supporting the social mission theme. The distinctive features of social enterprises in the sample are expressed in terms of "sincerity" and "inclusiveness". Therefore, it can be stated that the characteristics that social enterprises use to distinguish themselves from others are gathered around the same concepts. Similar characteristics of social enterprises are defined by "social benefit" and "organic organizational structure". As a result of the analysis, the ongoing characteristics of social enterprises were collected under concepts such as "sharing", "innovation" and "goodness". Considering the results of the research regarding legitimacy, it has been determined that social enterprises' establishment of a legitimate organizational identity would benefit them to gain more cognitive legitimacy and then moral legitimacy.

Keywords

• Organizational Identity
• Legitimacy
• Social Enterprise
• Social Entrepreneurship

Sosyal Girişimlerin Örgütsel Kimlik Yoluyla Meşruiyet Arayışları

Abstract

Araştırmanın amacı, Türkiye’de sosyal girişimlerin örgütsel kimlik örüntüsünü ortaya çıkarmak ve örgütsel kimlik aracılığıyla ile ne tür bir meşruiyet elde etme çabası içinde olduklarını araştırmaktır. On üç sosyal girişimci ile yapılan görüşmelerden elde edilen veriler NVivo 12 nitel veri analizi programında analiz edilmiştir. Sonuçlar, örneklemde yer alan sosyal girişimlerin merkezi özelliklerinin sosyal misyon teması altında toplandığını göstermektedir. En sık vurgulanan kelimelerin de sosyal misyon temasını destekler nitelikte “kadın” ve “sosyal” kelimeleri olduğu saptanmıştır. Örneklemde yer alan sosyal girişimlerin ayırt edici özellikleri “samimiyet” ve “kapsayıcılık” kavramları ile benzer özelliklerinin ise “sosyal fayda” ve “organik örgüt yapısı” ile tanımlandığı saptanmıştır. Analiz sonucunda sosyal girişimlerin süregelen özellikleri “paylaşım”, “yenilik” ve “iyilik” gibi kavramlar altında toplanmıştır. Araştırmanın meşruiyet ile ilgili sonuçlarına bakıldığında sosyal girişimlerin meşru bir örgüt kimliği inşa etmelerinin daha çok bilişsel meşruiyet ve daha sonra ahlaki meşruiyet elde etmelerine yarar sağlayacağı tespit edilmiştir.

Keywords

• Örgütsel Kimlik
• Meşruiyet
• Sosyal Girişim
• Sosyal Girişimcilik

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