An Agile IT-Enabled Social Startup

In an IT-enabled hybrid social startup, how and why does the social entrepreneur respond to conflicting commercial versus social norms and practices, as well as IT innovation challenges? We conducted an exploratory single-case study of an IT-enabled hybrid social startup consisting of a charitable pharmacy, two non-profit consortia, and two for-profit IT businesses, all co-founded by a pharmacist/social entrepreneur (with partners) who aimed to distribute donated “wasted” medications to needy patients. The two for-profit organizations were designing a blockchain and complementary web and mobile applications for secure, cost-effective donated-drug distribution, for use by this entrepreneur’s charitable pharmacy and other organizations committed to matching donors with needy patients. Study findings suggests that multiple forms of IT agility, multiple forms of business agility, and a unique form of social-commercial agility help an IT-enabled hybrid social startup persist, despite financial and other challenges.