Date of Conferral

7-24-2025

Degree

Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.)

School

Psychology

Advisor

Susan Marcus

Abstract

For-profit social enterprises (FPSEs) represent a growing response to urgent social and environmental challenges. Yet little is known about how their leaders develop internal capacities to navigate the tensions of hybrid business models. This interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) explored the lived experiences of FPSE leaders, focusing on meaning-making, developmental action inquiry, and leader evolution within profit- and mission-driven contexts. Rooted in ego development theory, developmental action inquiry, and the action logic framework, the study examined intrapersonal and systemic aspects of growth. Eleven U.S.-based FPSE leaders with at least 3 years leading a mission-driven enterprise and 5 years of total leadership experience participated in semi-structured interviews. Six themes emerged: leader identity, agentic growth, relational care, purpose-oriented entrepreneurship, business as social intervention, and leadership under tension. The results revealed that meaning making, action inquiry, and developmental tension are central to how FPSE leaders evolve and honor both profit and mission objectives. These findings also portray a relationship between vertical leader development, action inquiry, and hybrid business model complexity. The study invites future inquiry into the relationship between enterprise design and leader development, emphasizing how business structure can serve as a mirror and catalyst for leader growth. Implications for positive social change include expanding leadership models to integrate developmental theory and hybrid business design, and to foster leader development in a complex world.

Download

Share

 
COinS