2016 news dealingwithstigmainsocialenterprise 883x432 1

Dealing with stigma in social enterprise

17 November 2016

The article at a glance

Study by Professor Paul Tracey of Cambridge Judge about how organisations can positively handle “stigma” is cited in the Stanford Social Innovation …

Study by Professor Paul Tracey of Cambridge Judge about how organisations can positively handle “stigma” is cited in the Stanford Social Innovation Review.2016_news_dealingwithstigmainsocialenterprise-883x432

Professor Paul Tracey
Professor Paul Tracey

A study co-authored by Professor Paul Tracey of Cambridge Judge about how organisations can achieve positive outcomes through the proper handling of “stigma” was cited in the new edition of the Stanford Social Innovation Review.

The study looked at how a charity in the east of England, Keystone Development Trust, stood up for its principles of helping recent migrants in the face of opposition from local residents. Keystone’s CEO at the time was Neil Stott, now Executive Director of the Centre for Social Innovation at Cambridge Judge.

The study, recently published in the Academy of Management Journal, was authored by Paul Tracey, Professor of Innovation and Organisation at Cambridge Judge, and Professor Nelson Phillips, Acting Dean of Imperial College Business School.

The Winter 2017 issue of Stanford Social Innovation Review, published by Stanford University, outlines the study’s findings in an article entitled “Purpose versus popularity.”

The article quotes Marya Besharov of Cornell University, who studies mission-driven hybrid organisations, on how Keystone clarified how its work with recent migrants “was core to their purpose and to the interests of the community as a whole. As a result, Keystone benefited from increased cohesion among employees and greater resources and attention from stakeholders.”