Managing dilemmas of resource mobilization through jugaad: A multi‐method study of social enterprises in Indian healthcare

• Published date: 01 September 2020
• Author: Jaideep C. Prabhu,Ronika Chakrabarti,Alexander Brem,Nivedita Agarwal
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1362
• Date: 01 September 2020

SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE

Managing dilemmas of resource mobilization

through jugaad: A multi-method study of social

enterprises in Indian healthcare

Nivedita Agarwal

1

| Ronika Chakrabarti

2

| Jaideep C. Prabhu

3

|

Alexander Brem

4,5

1

Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-

Nürnberg, Fürth, Germany

2

Lancaster University Management School,

Lancaster, UK

3

Cambridge Judge Business School, University

of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

4

Institute of Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Science, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart,

Germany

5

Mads Clausen Institute, University of

Southern Denmark, Sonderborg, Denmark

Correspondence

Nivedita Agarwal, Friedrich-Alexander-

Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Dr.-Mack-Str.

81, 90762 Fürth, Germany.

Email: nivedita.agarwal@fau.de

Abstract

Research Summary: This study focuses on the dilemmas

that social entrepreneurs encounter and the practices used

to manage dilemmas over time. Using a multi-method

approach involving event structure analysis and an induc-

tive multiple case study, we find that four key organiza-

tional practices—asset multiplication, leveraging human

capital, building social embeddedness, and affordable

quality—embody the jugaad elements of frugality and inclu-

sivity. Adding to the social entrepreneurship literature, this

study demonstrates that the jugaad approach is conceptu-

ally distinct from bricolage and relevant to the study of

social enterprises' resource mobilization processes.

Managerial Summary: How do social enterprises encounter

and manage dilemmas over time in emerging markets? The

present study responds to this question, finding that social

entrepreneurs mobilize resources and overcome dilemmas

using the practices of jugaad, the “Indian method”of

problem-solving. These jugaad practices can be used to

build and allocate resources and create trade-offs among

the jugaad elements of frugality and inclusivity. Based on

our results, we recommend that social entrepreneurs pay

close attention to how to proceduralize human assets,

Received: 14 February 2019 Revised: 21 June 2020 Accepted: 22 June 2020 Published on: 17 August 2020

DOI: 10.1002/sej.1362

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which

permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no

modifications or adaptations are made.

© 2020 The Authors. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Strategic Management

Society.

Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. 2020;14:419–443. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/sej 419

which would allow these entrepreneurs to build training

systems that are highly task-focused and replicated across

functions. We also encourage social entrepreneurs to work

in rural markets and seek wider resource pools within these

markets by building social embeddedness in rural

communities.

KEYWORDS

emerging markets, event structure analysis, jugaad, resource

mobilization, social entrepreneurship

1|INTRODUCTION

Large numbers of citizens in emerging markets face unmet needs in core areas such as financial services, health, edu-

cation, and energy, and a particular pressure exists to meet growing demand in the face of serious resource con-

straints (Prabhu, Tracey, & Hassan, 2017; Radjou & Prabhu, 2012). However, the ambiguous nature of institutional

structures and the existence of weak rules and regulations hinder the solution-development process and lead to a

large portion of the population being excluded from the market (Mair, Marti, & Ventresca, 2012; McMullen &

Bergman, 2017; Prahalad, 2005). Under these conditions, social entrepreneurship has emerged as an alternative to

address the needs of the large population at the bottom of the pyramid and drive inclusive growth (Bocken, Fil, &

Prabhu, 2016; Desa & Basu, 2013; George, McGahan, & Prabhu, 2012; Mair, Martí, & Ganly, 2007).

Social entrepreneurship under these conditions has also attracted the attention of academic researchers, as it

provides an opportunity to explore entrepreneurship in a different context (Desa & Basu, 2013; Lisetchi &

Brancu, 2014). The existence of institutional constraints and competing resource demands, together with the hybrid

nature of social enterprises, result in novel tensions and organizational dilemmas (Battilana, 2018; Desa &

Basu, 2013; Short, Moss, & Lumpkin, 2009). To manage these dilemmas, social entrepreneurs engage in special insti-

tutional arrangements, trade-offs, and novel resource mobilization practices (Battilana, 2018; Santos, Pache, &

Birkholz, 2015; Siegner, Pinkse, & Panwar, 2018). However, the extant literature on these dilemmas and on the

corresponding management practices is sparse (Siegner et al., 2018). Specifically, there has been limited theoretical

and empirical exploration of how social entrepreneurs manage these dilemmas and mobilize resources in an emerging

market context. Further, a longitudinal perspective is missing on when these dilemmas occur and how these prac-

tices vary across time and context (Battilana, 2018; Davies & Doherty, 2019; Siegner et al., 2018; Wry &

Zhao, 2018).

In the Indian context, dilemmas around hybrid tensions and institutional constraints are often linked to jugaad,a

frugal, flexible, and inclusive approach to innovation and entrepreneurship (Krishnan & Prashantham, 2018;

Prahalad & Mashelkar, 2010; Radjou, Prabhu, & Ahuja, 2012; Shepherd, Parida, & Wincent, 2020). However, to date,

the link between resource mobilization and jugaad has not been systematically explored. Existing research has

highlighted bricolage, but not jugaad, as an important resource mobilization mechanism in the emerging market con-

text (Desa, 2012; Desa & Basu, 2013). Unlike bricolage, jugaad involves building frugal resources to meet social

demands. Thus, we argue that studying jugaad is relevant to understand social enterprises' resource mobilization.

This study identifies the dilemmas that social entrepreneurs encounter in emerging markets and explores how

jugaad is used to manage these dilemmas over time. It does so in the empirical context of three social enterprises in

India's healthcare sector: Aravind Eye Care System (AECS), LifeSpring Hospitals (LSH), and Ziqitza Health Care Lim-

ited (ZHL). For each of these cases, we applied a multi-method approach using event structure analysis (ESA) to

420 AGARWAL ET AL.