The Community Enterprise

What makes a community enterprise successful? And how can you ensure it remains so in the long term?

First, it is important to determine whether a community enterprise exists in every respect:

  • Is the enterprise embedded in the local community?

  • Is it aligned with the needs of that community?

  • Does it report back to the members of the community?

  • Do the revenues benefit the community?

  • Is the principle of “by and for members” upheld?

  • Does the initiative have a positive (social) impact on the broader society?

Five conditions affect long-term viability:

  1. Collective leadership: members of the collective are actively involved in and responsible for decision-making.

  2. Community involvement and accountability: the enterprise remains answerable to the community.

  3. A strong business model that ensures financial and operational sustainability.

  4. A shared organizational culture: pursuing the same goals, agreeing on how to achieve them.

  5. A robust network with strong partners to support growth and resilience.

The key point is that no single condition is sufficient on its own for success. It is always the combination of factors that matters. However, there is one factor that must always be present in the combination: the shared organizational culture. This culture includes having a clear common vision, making decisive choices, aligning on collaboration, and agreeing on desired developments.

 

Further reading

View the infographic

Read the article

References

  1. R. Kleinhans, I. van Meerkerk, R. Warsen & S. Clare, 2021. Understanding the Durability of Community Enterprises in England. Results of a Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Public Management Review. doi: 10.1080/14719037.2021.1999669

 

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