Dual identities in social ventures: An exploratory study

Drawing on the organizational identity literature, this exploratory study examines the dual identities of award-winning social ventures recognized by FastCompany magazine and the Skoll Foundation. Specifically, we use computer-assisted content analysis to explore identities as reflected in organizational mission statements. Our findings demonstrate that these externally recognized social ventures do exhibit dual identities-a utilitarian organizational identity (i.e., entrepreneurial, product oriented) and a normative organizational identity (i.e., social, people oriented). Further, when compared with the mission statements of other high-performing entrepreneurial enterprises culled from the Inc. 500, our post hoc analysis suggests that social ventures manifest a greater normative identity and an equivalent utilitarian identity.