Social Cooperatives in Germany: conceptualisation and empirical evidence

“Social Cooperatives” are not anentirely new phenomenon in Germany (Birkhölzer et al. 2015), yet therecent dynamic of newly founded cooperatives in the sphere of socialservices, infrastructure, health care, culture and... [ view full abstract ]

“Social Cooperatives” are not anentirely new phenomenon in Germany (Birkhölzer et al. 2015), yet therecent dynamic of newly founded cooperatives in the sphere of socialservices, infrastructure, health care, culture and education isremarkable. These cooperatives are of specific public interest asthey seem to have the potential to tackle current challenges such asa lack of service provision, weak infrastructure, financialrestrictions and demographic changes, especially in rural areas. Eventhough there is huge interest in the potentials and effects of thesecooperatives, there is not much empirical evidence about SocialCooperatives. Based on our investigation of newly foundedcooperatives between 2005 and 2016 (n=7.899) this contribution willprovide a more detailed analysis of the recent dynamics in thissector. The paper will describe and analyse the current developmentand the regional structure of Social Cooperatives in Germany. Basedon the findings the question, to what extent Social Coops could be asustain solution to tackle problems of welfare provision, will bediscussed.