The current crises brought to the fore the “social” deficit created by the quest for financial gain. Social welfare objectives, such as environmental preservation, the protection of human rights and social inclusion, were compromised, leading to economic, social and political upheaval. Nowadays researchers and policy-makers claim that social enterprises can pave the way for recovery and a sustainable society by combining economic and social goals through the provision of social goods and services, as well as the establishment of participatory governance structures.
In this article, social enterprises are seen as entities that potentially play a critical role in building a sustainable society by utilising social capital and supporting social regeneration and participatory economic systems. Though research and policies have stressed the importance of social enterprises, they have rarely examined theoretically and empirically the ways in which social enterprises can deploy norms and networks of trust and cooperation developed within organisations and society at large to influence a locality’s capacity to form partnerships, foster values of participation and promote social change.
Social enterprises are seen as vehicles of social regeneration identified with transformation based on community initiatives, inclusion and cooperation that are informed by the goal of improving peoples’ life through democratic empowerment. The article argues that social enterprises and social regeneration should be understood as a step toward a participatory economic system; otherwise, their social means and objectives will be undermined and used as a means to conduct “business as usual” (cf. Galera and Borzaga, 2009; Pestoff, 2012; Sacchetti and Campbell, 2014; Borzaga and Sacchetti, 2015; Laville and Salmon, 2015). A participatory economic system, via principles and institutions of generalised participation and social ownership, may be more efficient in the allocation of resources in the economy, compared to the capitalist system. It consists of interlocking networks and institutions within and across firms, where the various values and interests of people interact and shape one another in a discursive process of decision-making through negotiation and cooperation (Adaman and Devine, 2002). The article argues that social capital can provide the norms and networks of trust and cooperation that enable us to determine and cultivate participatory principles and make for a sustainable society. For instance, bonding forms of social capital should be combined with bridging ties to combat the particularised interests and powerful groups that work at the detriment of public interest (Borzaga and Sforzi, 2014; Sacchetti and Campbell, 2014).
To examine the actual potential of a social enterprise to contribute to social regeneration and a participatory economic system via social capital, the article provides preliminary results of a case study conducted in Greece with the social enterprise “Eu Zin” (“Well Being”), which focuses on the employment and integration of individuals with mental health problems. The study applies a variant of the community development framework used by Sacchetti and Campbell (2014), which investigates the social values and networks developed within and outside the organisation, as well as its social impact on members and the broader society. It is evidenced that a social enterprise in Greece encounters numerous difficulties due to the debt crisis, deep recession, austerity, welfare state retrenchment, rising unemployment and poverty, political instability, fierce market competition, the novelty of concepts and practices of social enterprise, and the absence of supportive mechanisms, especially of entrepreneurial management skills, financial institutions and evaluation systems, specialising in the social economy. However, it is also shown that possibilities can be created for a sustainable social enterprise and society so long as members individually and collectively show commitment and determination in creating a solidarity society, building collaborative networks within and across organisations, forging public-private synergies, and offering continuous support to vulnerable groups.
References:
Adaman, F. and Devine, P. (2002), “A Reconsideration of the Theory of Entrepreneurship: A Participatory Approach”, Review of Political Economy, 14(3):329-355.
Borzaga, C. and Sacchetti, S. (2015), “Why Social Enterprises Are Asking to Be Multi-stakeholder and Deliberative: An Explanation around the Costs of Exclusion”, Euricse Working Papers, 75|15.
Borzaga, C. and Sforzi, J. (2014), “Social Capital, Cooperatives, and Social Enterprises”, in A. Christoforou and J. B. Davis (eds.), Social Capital and Economics: Social Values, Power and Social Identity, London and New York: Routledge, 193-214.
Galera, G. and Borzaga, C. (2009), “Social Enterprise: An International Overview of its Conceptual Evolution and Legal Implementation”, Social Enterprise Journal, 5(3):210-228.
Laville, J.-L. and Salmon, A. (2015), “Rethinking the Relationship between Governance and Democracy: The Theoretical Framework of the Solidarity Economy”, in J.-L. Laville, D. R.
Pestoff, V. (2012), “Co-production and Third Sector Social Services in Europe: Some Concepts and Evidence”, Voluntas, 23:1102-1118.
Sacchetti, S. and Campbell, C. (2014), “Creating Space for Communities: Social Enterprise and the Bright Side of Social Capital”, Journal of Entrepreneurial and Organisational Diversity, 3(2):32-48.
1. Concepts and models of social enterprise worldwide
