Tensions at the margins of change: re-discovering hybridity in the digitalisation of social enterprises
Tensions at the margins of change: re-discovering hybridity in the digitalisation of social enterprises
This article draws on theories of hybridity in social entrepreneurship, institutional logics, and technology-associated organisational change to develop a novel framework for analysing how digitalisation affects hybridity and internal tensions in social enterprises. Based on an action research study in a UK-based social enterprise, our findings reveal that digitalisation functions as a set of new strategic practices that disrupt existing institutional logics and trigger profound organisational changes. This form of institutional disruption destabilises established hybrid balances. These dynamics generate internal tensions – rooted in divergent digital literacies, competing mission recognition, and identity misalignments – which ultimately lead to resistance and the marginalisation of digitalisation. Our study advances understanding of digitalisation as a contested and complex socio-technical process in social enterprises and highlights its often-overlooked ‘dark side'.
hybridity, digitalisation, institutional logic, social entrepeneurship, tension
Hu, Xiaoti
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Ivanov, Ivan
c9f3e74c-9421-4d39-828f-3a6bdc26ec4d
Battisti, Martina
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Hu, Xiaoti
aa911c15-cebf-4cc2-b891-edcebccc9e2a
Ivanov, Ivan
c9f3e74c-9421-4d39-828f-3a6bdc26ec4d
Battisti, Martina
fd2bf1f2-ba9b-4ce9-95e0-5b5c51e4726f
Hu, Xiaoti, Ivanov, Ivan and Battisti, Martina
(2025)
Tensions at the margins of change: re-discovering hybridity in the digitalisation of social enterprises.
International Small Business Journal.
(doi:10.1177/02662426251371138).
Abstract
This article draws on theories of hybridity in social entrepreneurship, institutional logics, and technology-associated organisational change to develop a novel framework for analysing how digitalisation affects hybridity and internal tensions in social enterprises. Based on an action research study in a UK-based social enterprise, our findings reveal that digitalisation functions as a set of new strategic practices that disrupt existing institutional logics and trigger profound organisational changes. This form of institutional disruption destabilises established hybrid balances. These dynamics generate internal tensions – rooted in divergent digital literacies, competing mission recognition, and identity misalignments – which ultimately lead to resistance and the marginalisation of digitalisation. Our study advances understanding of digitalisation as a contested and complex socio-technical process in social enterprises and highlights its often-overlooked ‘dark side'.
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ISB-24-0475.R2_Proof
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hu-et-al-2025-tensions-at-the-margins-of-change-re-discovering-hybridity-in-the-digitalisation-of-social-enterprises
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Accepted/In Press date: 9 August 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 23 September 2025
Keywords:
hybridity, digitalisation, institutional logic, social entrepeneurship, tension
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 504140
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/504140
ISSN: 0266-2426
PURE UUID: 8cd1d4f3-83cd-4817-9f8f-c5fc50f8a134
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Date deposited: 27 Aug 2025 16:47
Last modified: 25 Sep 2025 02:02
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Author:
Xiaoti Hu
Author:
Martina Battisti
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