Navigating stigma while balancing between the social and the commercial: An account of Clarity & Co

TY - JOUR

T1 - Navigating stigma while balancing between the social and the commercial

T2 - An account of Clarity & Co

AU - Pittaki, Zoi

AU - Li, Xiaoqing

N1 - © 2025 The Author(s).

PY - 2025/12/29

Y1 - 2025/12/29

N2 - This study focuses on Clarity & Co., one of the UK’s oldest social enterprises (SEs), and offers insights into social entrepreneurship through historically analysing its 166-year effort in de-stigmatisation (1854–2020). Specifically, the study examines social entrepreneurship as a dynamic process through which SEs manage stigma over time to pursue both their social mission and economic self-sufficiency. Our findings contribute to social entrepreneurship theory by reframing de-stigmatisation as a strategic organisational resource that fundamentally shapes how SEs navigate their dual social and commercial objectives. We also demonstrate that stigma in SEs is not merely a barrier to overcome but can also be strategically harnessed as a source of organisational strength and differentiation. Importantly, our historical perspective advances the understanding of social entrepreneurship by highlighting that SEs must confront stigma as a systemic phenomenon, requiring the co-creation of participatory architectures and the mobilisation of diverse social actors for broader and sustained transformation.

AB - This study focuses on Clarity & Co., one of the UK’s oldest social enterprises (SEs), and offers insights into social entrepreneurship through historically analysing its 166-year effort in de-stigmatisation (1854–2020). Specifically, the study examines social entrepreneurship as a dynamic process through which SEs manage stigma over time to pursue both their social mission and economic self-sufficiency. Our findings contribute to social entrepreneurship theory by reframing de-stigmatisation as a strategic organisational resource that fundamentally shapes how SEs navigate their dual social and commercial objectives. We also demonstrate that stigma in SEs is not merely a barrier to overcome but can also be strategically harnessed as a source of organisational strength and differentiation. Importantly, our historical perspective advances the understanding of social entrepreneurship by highlighting that SEs must confront stigma as a systemic phenomenon, requiring the co-creation of participatory architectures and the mobilisation of diverse social actors for broader and sustained transformation.

KW - Social entrepreneurship

KW - hybrid organisations

KW - visual impairment

KW - stigma

KW - de-stigmatisation

U2 - 10.1080/00076791.2025.2586071

DO - 10.1080/00076791.2025.2586071

M3 - Article

SN - 0007-6791

JO - Business History

JF - Business History

ER -