Introduction:
There is no single legal structure for social enterprise in the UK. Yet, when the UK Government (narrowly) defined social enterprise in 2002, their characterisation received little critical scholarly attention! As Peredo and McLean (2006) and Peattie and Morley (2008) outline, scholars researching in the field on one hand have recognised the diversity of the business models (from Pestoff 1998, Amin et al, 1999 to more recently Ridley-Duff and Bull 2016) and the hybrid nature of these organisations (Billis 2010, Pache and Santos 2012, Doherty et al 2014). Yet strangely, on the other hand, scholars either, ignore, conflate or only give a cursory glance in mention of the different types of organisational legal identities, ownership and/or governance forms when conceptualising the concept as a single entity (Dees 1998, Westall, 2001, Alter 2007).
Statement of the empirical or theoretical question:
Can a focus on legal structures help conceptualise an inclusive model of social enterprise?
Methodological approach:
This is a conceptual paper.
Main argument:
Despite numerous attempts to define social enterprise, as well as calls to move beyond definition, the field appears to be no nearer in providing an inclusive model of social enterprise. The objective of this paper is to conceptualise social enterprise in the UK. Through an analysis of various theoretical positions this paper argues that current theory fails to fully represent the variety of organisational types that are coined ‘social enterprise’. There are numerous theoretical conceptualisations positioning social enterprise in various contexts and continents. This paper tracks the rise of social enterprise in the UK from the 1980s to the 1990s. A decade where the concept emerged and formed in both the political consciousness and as an academic discipline. Therefore, the contribution to knowledge here is in identifying and acknowledging the different types of social enterprise. This paper provides a conceptualisation that embraces the multifaceted nature of social enterprise, which has previously and predominantly been a model of one-size, fits all. This paper presents a contribution to knowledge and alternative foci in presenting a theoretical conceptualisation of organisational types of social enterprise through incorporation within the UK legal regulatory frameworks.
Main conclusions and relevance:
An appreciation of the differences between charity type, society type and company type social enterprises seems an important contribution to the definitional debate in the sector. The conceptual model provides the basis for further scholarly research in refining and building on corporate governance perspectives of social enterprise from other parts of the world. The practitioner implication is the potential of the model to influence new start-up social enterprise incorporation. The policy implications tie in with the practitioner implications, as this model could influence the development of business support for the sector, which needs to take into consideration the three ideologically, as well as operationally different, ownership and governance business models in UK social enterprise sector.
References:
Alter, K., (2007) “Social enterprise typology”, available at: www.virtueventures.com/settypo... (accessed August 2007).
Amin A, Cameron A and Hudson R (1999) Welfare as Work? The Potential of the UK Social Economy. Environment and Planning 31: 2033–2051.
Billis, D. (2010). Towards a theory of hybrid organizations. In Billis, D. (ed.), Hybrid Organizations and the Third Sector. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 46–69.
Dees, G. (1998) ‘Enterprise Non-profits’, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 76, No. 1, pp. 55-67.
Doherty, R., Haugh, H. and Lyon, F (2014) Social enterprises as hybrid organizations: a review and research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews. Vol 16 Issue 4 pp 417-436
Pache, A.C. and Santos, F. (2012). Inside the hybrid organization: selective coupling as a response to competing institutional logics. Academy of Management Journal, 56, pp. 972–1001.
Peattie, K. and Morley, A. (2008), “Social enterprises: diversity and dynamics, contexts and contributions” Social Enterprise Coalition/ESRC Research Monograph, Swindon, 65pp.
Peredo, A.M. and McLean, M. (2006). Social entrepreneurship: a critical review of the concept. Journal of World Business, 41, pp. 56–65.
Pestoff, V.A. (1998) Beyond the Market and State: Social Enterprises and Civil Democracy in a Welfare State. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Ridley-Duff, R., and Bull, M. (2016). Understanding Social Enterprise: Theory and Practice. London: Sage.
Westall, A (2001) Value-led, Market Driven, London: Institute Public Policy Research.
1. Concepts and models of social enterprise worldwide
