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My analysis revealed that entrepreneurs established feedback relationships to manage the feedback-seeking paradox in an

integrative way. Establishing feedback relationships refers to the entrepreneurs’ arrangements with individuals or groups whose main responsibility in relation to the entrepreneur or the venture is to provide feedback. This strategy included acquiring formal and informal mentors and personal advisors, organising informal peer support groups with other social entrepreneurs, creating feedback teams, and establishing formal and informal advisory groups very early in the venture emergence process. These individuals or groups varied in their backgrounds and relationships to the entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs selected them based on their experience, expertise, diversity of perspectives, trustworthiness, and commitment to the venture or the social issue in more general terms. Establishing

feedback relationships was considered effective in bringing diverse perspectives into the venture. These individuals were also

considered to contribute with their detachment from the daily work of the entrepreneur and his/her venture, thus they were seen as more likely to be honest and objective in their feedback. For example, Dominic shared his approach to building an advisory group as an important mechanism to get feedback:

We set up a steering group. We don't need to have a management committee, but we invited a group of other

professionals who we knew to act in advisory capacity. […] [W]e meet once a quarter to give them information about what we are doing, updating them, getting feedback so "Have you tried this? Have you tried that? What about this? You didn't mention that. Maybe you should look at this." So we get feedback from a group of professionals who we call our steering group or

advisory group.

Establishing feedback relationships brought customers and beneficiaries closer to the venture and its decision-making

processes. Entrepreneurs who established feedback relationships often involved individuals who were supposed to represent

customers or beneficiaries. They were engaged as feedback sources to serve as the voice of customers and beneficiaries within the

venture to share feedback on the offerings and how to make them more appealing and accessible. For example, Alister involved his eight most influential customers as an advisory group to seek feedback about improvements to the game and its future marketing and distribution. In an extreme case of building feedback structures, Sam established a share-holding team whose members were

responsible to act as representatives of the beneficiaries and customers. They were considered advisory founders or co-creators of the digital platform and were only responsible for giving and seeking feedback in exchange for 15% shares in the venture.

This feedback team involved a group of teenagers to represent the beneficiaries and a professional social worker to represent social services as a customer segment. Sam also considered such feedback from beneficiaries and customers to bring additional credibility to the venture by demonstrating that the products and

services were built with the feedback of service users, and were therefore more likely to meet their needs. Sam considered the 15%-stake in the venture to be essential because “they also have an incentive to give us good feedback and help us build a good product because they have a share in the company”. He summarised the role of the advisory co-creators with the following statement:

So they are not big roles officially and only involve a few hours of work, but they are crucial for us because they bring these new perspectives from different worlds and can give us

feedback about different parts of the project that we don't have much experience in and give us more credibility.

My analysis indicated that establishing feedback relationships created synergies between all development goals and the protection goals of managing resources and maintaining competitiveness. In terms of development goals, establishing feedback relationships provided entrepreneurs with consistent opportunities to reduce response uncertainty by involving customers and beneficiaries in various decisions, to learn from individuals with diverse experiences and expertise, and to improve their offerings. Some entrepreneurs also used this strategy to build credibility and reputation by

demonstrating customer and beneficiary involvement and input to outsiders. Entrepreneurs considered that this would help them to build trust and an image of engaged ventures. In terms of protection goals, establishing feedback relationships increased the accessibility to feedback sources and meaningful feedback in the long term, thus reducing the resources required to seek feedback. As entrepreneurs carefully selected the individuals they engaged with in feedback relationships based on trust, existing relationships, or incentives, they were also less concerned with maintaining competitiveness due to idea appropriation by the feedback sources. Almost as a by-product, this strategy was seen to increase entrepreneurs’ sense of

accountability and steer them into action because they were

“reporting to someone”, instead of being “only me”. This could help entrepreneurs to overcome the slow progress effects of feedback seeking to maintain competitiveness. Calvin summarised the benefit

of accountability and pressure driven by establishing feedback relationships:

I've been doing stuff and playing, but now I've got to start working. I am about to set up a steering group because up until now I've been managing myself. And I am too kind on myself, I don't crack the whip enough. […] So I've identified about half a dozen people who I will choose to be on a steering group because they have specific expertise or specific connections.

[…] Even if that group meets only once a month for an hour at least I could have that pressure, if you like, to work harder. To work harder on the job, rather than playing on the job.