ALTERNATIVE ORGANIZATION PUT TO THE TEST BY INCLUSION: THE CASE OF CREATING A COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY (CIC) TO SUPPORT PROJECT LEADERS WITH SOCIETAL IMPACT

Abstract

This paper studies the issues of inclusion and exclusion of diverse stakeholders within an alternative organization—multi-stakeholder social cooperative. Our results demonstrate renewed inclusion practices within CICs in support of their mission. However, they emphasize that adopting a governance model based on multi-membership does not guarantee the inclusion of all stakeholders
within an alternative organization and that specific governance and management mechanisms still need to be invented for this purpose. Finally, they demonstrate the importance of finding a balance between inclusion and exclusion within alternative organizations to define the boundaries of their alterity.