Social-Market Hybridity in Social Ventures: Scale Development and Validation

Abstract

Growing research suggests social ventures (SVs) variably combine social and profit orientations in core organizational features, and this variation in hybridity leads to divergent organizational dynamics and outcomes. However, no comprehensive and precise measurement scale has emerged to capture the varying degrees of hybridity across SVs. To advance theory and empirical research, this study presents an instrument for assessing how organizational actors perceive the degree to which social and market logics are (a) compatible and (b) central to organizational functioning. An inductive-confirmatory two-study approach ( Nstudy1 = 293, Nstudy2 = 315) validates a hybridity scale—composed of 6-item compatibility and 4-item centrality factors—for U.S. nonprofit organizations, benefit corporations, and social enterprises. Moreover, results reveal perceived compatibility is associated with SVs’ revenue structure, whereas centrality is related to their legal status. The development of this scale will facilitate large-scale quantitative research that systematically examines the varied nature, drivers, and implications of organizational hybridity.