Dana Schadenberg and Emma Folmer
This paper aims to analyse how sustainable second-hand stores (SSHSs) use storytelling as a legitimization strategy. Second-hand stores have traditionally relied on a charity…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyse how sustainable second-hand stores (SSHSs) use storytelling as a legitimization strategy. Second-hand stores have traditionally relied on a charity identity to attract customers. More recently, changing market demands, the growing popularity of second-hand shopping, “vintage” and online shopping have opened up new opportunities for these social enterprises (SEs). This study asks how SSHSs can maintain their legitimacy with incumbent stakeholders while also exploiting these new opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses an abductive approach starting from existing knowledge on how storytelling builds legitimacy in conventional enterprises. The authors collected qualitative data and interviewed owners and managers of second-hand stores in the Netherlands. This paper specifically looked at how second-hand stores are using their web shops to convey stories and build legitimacy with (new) audiences.
Findings
Contrary to the authors’ expectations, they found that the web shop is not used as a site for storytelling the mission of the store but is rather a stage for specific products that tell a story of trendy and vintage shopping. This attracts a new customer segment to the store that conventionally does not shop there. This paper concludes that second-hand stores use vintage products as symbols in storytelling through their web shop to gain access to a new market. By foregoing to tell the story of their mission on the web shop, the second-hand stores are choosing to keep their charity and business identity separate.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper makes an original contribution by analysing how second-hand stores are actively exploiting new opportunities created by a changing market context and seeking to maintain legitimacy while doing so. This paper argues that legitimacy is not a static “reward,” rather, something that evolves with the enterprise. This research adds to the body of literature on legitimacy and more specifically cultural entrepreneurship, which holds that entrepreneurs can actively gain and maintain legitimacy through storytelling.
Details
Keywords
Emma Folmer, Corneel Nederveen and Veronique Schutjens
The purpose of this paper is to understand how important networks are for the emergence and growth of social enterprises as well as how social enterprises use their networks…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand how important networks are for the emergence and growth of social enterprises as well as how social enterprises use their networks throughout the life course of their organisation. A comparative approach is used by contrasting social enterprises with traditional commercial enterprises along the dimensions of obtaining resources and legitimacy through their networks.
Design/methodology/approach
An abductive approach is used starting from existing knowledge on how commercial enterprises use networks during the start-up and growth of their enterprise. Qualitative interviews with 23 entrepreneurs were conducted. Using a matched-pairs design, the network importance and use of social and commercial enterprises is compared.
Findings
It is found that networks are highly important for both commercial and social enterprises throughout their life course. However, they substantially diverge in how they use their networks. Social enterprises tend to access more intangible resources through their networks than do commercial enterprises. Moreover, social enterprises rely more strongly on their networks for legitimacy in both the start-up and growth phase of the enterprise.
Originality/value
This paper takes a novel approach by empirically comparing the networks of social and commercial enterprises. New insights are offered in the resource flows within networks and how entrepreneurs use resources obtained from their networks.