Through inductive qualitative research, this paper addresses the way a health social franchise network can be set up and managed in order to scale social impact in contexts of poverty while dealing with potential mission drift. Our results first suggest that implementing the ‘right business model’ is not enough to successfully scale impact as it also needs careful management of the social franchise network. Whereas the social-driven activities of health franchisees could suggest a low risk of mission drift toward profit, the role of the social franchisor appears crucial to avoid it. Ensuring operational and economic performance, boosting social cohesion, and encouraging social franchisees commitment toward the community and the social franchise network may contribute to scaling deeper and broader impacts while preventing the network from mission drift. Not only social franchising may be useful to scale impact in contexts of poverty, but also to align social and economic missions.
