How Founders Harness Tensions in Hybrid Venture Development

Although the simultaneous presence of multiple ambitions is inherent in
hybrid venturing, pursuing social and/or environmental missions while
securing commercial viability can generate ambivalence among stakeholders.
In this study, we draw on the notion of “holism” to show how venture
founders both embrace tensioned ambitions and sustain hybridity during
critical venture development phases. Based on 6 years of data on The People’s
Supermarket in the United Kingdom, we identify three distinct practices—
fantasizing, bartering, and conjuring—used by founders to harness tensions
productively, without compromising their venture’s multiple ambitions.
These practices demonstrate the founders’ ability to maintain a venture’s
hybrid nature throughout the ideation, organizational, and scale-up phases,
thereby shedding light on the application of “holism” within the realm of
hybrid venturing.