Abstract
Social enterprise has been criticized for discursively transforming
third sector organizations and practitioners into economic
agents. Such a critique too readily construes the discourse of
social enterprise as a deterministic force that encroaches on all
aspects of organizational and individual identity. We reintroduce
a sense of agency to discursive conceptualizations through an
empirical study focusing on whether and how social enterprise
infiltrates the third sector at the level of the subject. Drawing from
a qualitative study in England, we use Pêcheux’s three-part model
of dis/identification as an explanatory schema to conceptualize
the ways third sector practitioners endorse or reject the inherent
norms and principles of social enterprise. The discussion
covers how processes of identification, counter-identification,
and disidentification, respectively, perpetuate or transgress the
discourse of social enterprise and highlights the implications for
future research in this developing field.
third sector organizations and practitioners into economic
agents. Such a critique too readily construes the discourse of
social enterprise as a deterministic force that encroaches on all
aspects of organizational and individual identity. We reintroduce
a sense of agency to discursive conceptualizations through an
empirical study focusing on whether and how social enterprise
infiltrates the third sector at the level of the subject. Drawing from
a qualitative study in England, we use Pêcheux’s three-part model
of dis/identification as an explanatory schema to conceptualize
the ways third sector practitioners endorse or reject the inherent
norms and principles of social enterprise. The discussion
covers how processes of identification, counter-identification,
and disidentification, respectively, perpetuate or transgress the
discourse of social enterprise and highlights the implications for
future research in this developing field.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 248-270 |
Number of pages | 23 |
Journal | Administrative Theory and Praxis |
Volume | 35 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jun 2013 |
Keywords
- social enterprise
- identity
- identity management
- UK
- third sector