Navigating the dual‐purpose paradox in scaling‐up: The interface between goal and entrepreneurial orientation in social enterprises

Abstract To effectively tackle today's pressing societal challenges, social enterprises need to scale up their impact beyond their initial community or region, especially in developing economies where societal challenges are most pronounced. However, the scaling‐up process tends to be hampered by the tensions inherent in combining social and financial goals. Drawing on insights from the (social) entrepreneurship and purpose literature, the present paper posits that entrepreneurial orientation is a mechanism that is critical to bridging the gap between social goal orientation and scaling‐up. Based on data from 162 social enterprises operating in India's Base of the Pyramid (BoP) segment, we show that a strong goal orientation toward a particular social purpose is not sufficient to achieve scaling‐up. Our results show rather that by translating social aspirations into entrepreneurial actions in order to expand their social impact, entrepreneurial orientation mediates the relationship between social goal orientation and scaling‐up particularly within the BoP market. Our study findings contribute to the growing discourse on purpose‐driven strategies aimed at maximizing value creation beyond profit and the tensions inherent in dual‐purpose organizations.