Managing succession in social enterprises: the case of San Patrignano.

The article aims at extending theory on succession in social enterprises as hybrid organizational forms by building upon the family business literature and by analyzing a longitudinal case study. Despite the relevance of succession in mission-driven organizations, the literature on founder and leader transition is scant. The topic is most frequently researched in the family business literature. Addressing the need of extending research on this kind of organizations, we analyze the case study of the San Patrignano Community, a hybrid non profit organization and one of the largest drug rehabilitation communities in the world. The in-depth case study analysis – highlighting how the community is handling this transition and the succession process from the foundation family (Muccioli) to a more professionalized management team – aims to contribute to the literature on leadership succession in social enterprises, taking into account their specificities. A dynamic and systemic analytical model is defined and recommendations for managers preparing their hybrid organizations to such a pinpoint event are drawn. The findings suggest that successful transition in hybrid organizations is dependent on the capacity to maintain the alignment between the mix of social and economic objectives, the organizational identity, the governance and the operations.