Social Collectives: A Partial Form of Organizing that Sustains Social Innovation1

authors

  • Crespin-Mazet Florence
  • Goglio-Primard Karine
  • Grenier Corinne

document type

ART

abstract

We mobilize the organizational and practice-based literature to determine the mechanisms enabling a social collective to introduce innovation in public rescue. The case highlights how this collective acquired characteristics of a partial organization by: (1) emergent characteristics reacting to critical incidents, (2) an overarching agenda supporting actors participation, (3) complementarity of exclusion and inclusion membership practices to enforce collective identity and reach a critical mass, (4) recognition of collective actorhood through reification practices, (5) the role of a secretariat through theorizing and developing close but discrete relationships with an external actor with critical expertise and resources.

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