The transformation of the non-profit organisation to a more entrepreneurial form within a developing country context

The non-profit organisation (NPO) is being pushed to find alternative ways of organising itself in order to survive financially. Many NPOs are transitioning towards a new entrepreneurial form that may involve some degree of... [ view full abstract ]

The non-profit organisation (NPO) is being pushed to find alternative ways of organising itself in order to survive financially. Many NPOs are transitioning towards a new entrepreneurial form that may involve some degree of profit-making. One of these new social enterprise forms, called the entrepreneurial non-profit (ENP) was recently articulated. The ENP is an NPO with a strong focus on social mission, but which has adapted to meet scarce funding resources by becoming more entrepreneurial and often adopting a profit-making component. The concept consequently has a long intellectual history even though the term ENP is new. The extant literature agrees that NPOs are critical for addressing challenging social problems, but that these organisations are unable to survive in their current form. The most recent literature points to the ENP as a potential solution, and acknowledges the tensions inherent in the transition. The literature does not, however, describe how this transition occurs. This research will address this by studying NPOs that have transitioned to ENPs and by building a model of transition. This will complete an empirical gap, deepen the emerging theory on social enterprise ideal types and provide a recipe for transition within this organisational type and context.