Bringing space into social entrepreneurship research: A qualitative study of space design in the public health context.

There is a common perception that spaces are fixed and unchanging (Stephenson, Kuismin,
Putnam, & Sivunen, 2020) and spatial factors are usually overlooked or taken for granted
(Hujala & Rissanen, 2011). However, designing and redesigning spaces play a crucial role in
the entrepreneurial process of organizing (Barinaga, 2017). According to Best and Hindmarsh
(2019), it is essential to move beyond the traditional focus on architecture and instead
concentrate on spatial arrangements or other elements within the physical setting of spaces.
Normally, spaces should be designed or redesigned with the aim of enhancing their overall
appeal and increasing the potential of action for those who utilize them (De Molli, Mengis, &
Van Marrewijk, 2020). The design of organizational spaces which involves the use of aesthetic
elements (Connellan, 2013; Hancock & Spicer, 2011; Hujala & Rissanen, 2011) is of utmost
significance, as the first impression of a space can influence one’s perception of the nature of
work carried out within it (Küpers, 2002).
Furthermore, previous research highlights that the design of spaces can elicit specific emotions
that prompt people to achieve desired goals, such as fostering curiosity and attention in an
educational setting, reinforcing hunger in a dining room, sleepiness in a bedroom, to name a
few (Arbib, 2021). Space design thus uses various modes and registers to encourage certain
behaviors and experiences and scholars have pointed out that contact with organizational space,
whether through sight, smell, taste, hearing or touch, provides a sensory experience that
conveys emotional experiences and meaning (Alexander, 2010). Nonetheless, it is important to
note that certain modes such as smell and taste have an immediate, precognitive and primarily affective impact on individuals (Barberá-Tomás, Castelló, De Bakker, & Zietsma, 2019) while
other modes such as sight have a slower, more linear and primarily cognitive impact on
individuals (Meyer, Jancsary, Höllerer, & Boxenbaum, 2018). This highlights the importance
of incorporating appropriate sensory factors into space design for evoking desired emotions and
behaviors of individuals. Scholars in the field have studied a number of such “mood settings”,
when one stepping into a space, that meticulously crafted through spatial design considerations
such as binding (Björkvall, Van Meerbergen, & Westberg, 2023; Stenglin, 2008), orientation
and recognition (De Molli et al., 2020), enchantment (Siebert, Wilson, & Hamilton, 2017) or
embeddedness (Kimmitt, Kibler, Schildt, & Oinas, 2023). In the realm of social
entrepreneurship literature, although there is research with a spatial dimension (social
entrepreneurial ecosystems, regional clusters, etc.), the role of organizational space remains
largely overlooked. We contend that organizational space is not merely a passive backdrop for
social entrepreneurial endeavors but rather a vital catalyst for societal transformation. However,
in certain contexts like healthcare settings, functionality often takes precedence, with spatial
design aimed at ensuring patient safety and operational efficiency (Andrews & Shaw, 2008;
Hujala & Rissanen, 2011).
This paper aims to address this literature gap by presenting findings from a qualitative
investigation of a social franchising project named Sisterhood in Vietnam that, by introducing
a network of new, well-designed consulting rooms to existing (public) local commune health
stations, enhanced the provision of sexual and reproductive health services (Nguyen & Dey,
2023). Our inquiry unpacks how these beneficial effects were enabled by the re-design of
organizational space which opened up new experience. To properly understand how
organizational space improves people’s experience, different Sisterhood’s sources of data were
collected and analyzed: 25 individual/group semi-structured interviews and internal
documents/reports. Furthermore, observational data played a crucial role in our analysis,
comprising field notes and photographs taken by the first author during his visits to commune
health stations. These observations were supplemented by documentation of various objects
within the commune health stations and their consulting rooms, such as signboards, logos,
posters, brochures, etc.