Growing, Stabilising, Downsizing: The Evolution of Social Enterprise Scaling Ambitions

Abstract

Entrepreneurship research recognises growth ambitions as an antecedent of realised growth. Such ambitions are however dynamic, adapting to changing conditions. In social enterprises, the corresponding construct is scaling ambitions, which span both social impact and financial objectives. How these ambitions evolve over time remains underexamined. Drawing on the ambitious entrepreneurship and scaling impact literatures, we examine eight Dutch social enterprises over two years using an abductive multiple case design. Enterprises adjusted the prioritisation and magnitude of their impact and business ambitions. Ambition revisions predominantly shaped strategy changes, though strategy changes also affected ambitions. Our findings therefore suggest a bidirectional relationship between ambitions and scaling strategies.