Driven by changing institutional environments and concepts such as social entrepreneurship, we have recently seen a development of organizations that defy the classical dichotomy between a nonprofit and for-profit orientation. The hybrid nature of these organizations does not only pose challenges for taxation and management issues, but also for academic research. It puts into question the handed down distinction between nonprofit and for-profit organizations used to describe organizational entities, and in particular, the central role given to the notion of profit in determining the ontology of organizations. A more refined understanding of the hybrid nature of recent organizational forms presents an opportunity to rethink the notion of firm, the centrality of organizational purpose, and the usefulness of previously established categories. This article explores why organizations shift their attention from profit towards elements that are beyond profit, without neglecting the economic objectives that contribute to their sustainability, which we refer to as “metaprofit”. It contributes to the literature by critically examining the appropriateness of the frequently used categorical and often too simple distinction between for-profit and nonprofit organizations, by providing alternatives to overcome this critical dichotomy, and, in this context, elaborating on the notion of metaprofit.
Metaprofit of organizations: an approach for overcoming the for-profit/nonprofit dichotomy
Mion G.
2020-01-01
Abstract
Driven by changing institutional environments and concepts such as social entrepreneurship, we have recently seen a development of organizations that defy the classical dichotomy between a nonprofit and for-profit orientation. The hybrid nature of these organizations does not only pose challenges for taxation and management issues, but also for academic research. It puts into question the handed down distinction between nonprofit and for-profit organizations used to describe organizational entities, and in particular, the central role given to the notion of profit in determining the ontology of organizations. A more refined understanding of the hybrid nature of recent organizational forms presents an opportunity to rethink the notion of firm, the centrality of organizational purpose, and the usefulness of previously established categories. This article explores why organizations shift their attention from profit towards elements that are beyond profit, without neglecting the economic objectives that contribute to their sustainability, which we refer to as “metaprofit”. It contributes to the literature by critically examining the appropriateness of the frequently used categorical and often too simple distinction between for-profit and nonprofit organizations, by providing alternatives to overcome this critical dichotomy, and, in this context, elaborating on the notion of metaprofit.
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