Between the instrumental and the substantive: Paradoxes of a “common” project

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to investigate the paradoxes concerning the construction of a social development project run by an NGO and a company in the recycling sector. The case study of the Southern Development Project is herein assessed. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and treated through content analysis. Based on the results, the company did not fail to meet its commercial requirements, even when it sought some social impact; the NGO, in its turn, pursued social ambitions, while seeking financial support. The paradox emerged from the social-economic relationship, since organizational actors find mismatches and dilemma when they struggle to reconcile CSA’s ethical to the business case

Keywords

• paradox
• social development project
• instrumental and substantive rationality
• economic versus socia
• sustainability