Social or Commercial Entrepreneurship: Exploring Micro Enterprises in the English Care Sector

Entrepreneurship has been promoted in English policy as part of a broad marketization agenda involving the creation of a mixed market of providers. Since the 1990s, the English social care sector is one where entrepreneurship... [ view full abstract ]

Entrepreneurship has been promoted in English policy as part of a broad marketization agenda involving the creation of a mixed market of providers. Since the 1990s, the English social care sector is one where entrepreneurship has been particularly encouraged and now around three quarters of services are provided by the independent sector (primarily private providers). This has been subject to huge criticism by some commentators who argue that turning care into a commodity could diminish the moral and social aspects of caring; ultimately lowering the quality of care albeit for less money. Alternatively, opportunities for non-profit organisations and social enterprises to enter the care market have been more widely celebrated. Social entrepreneurs which are focused on the creation of social value are said to be characterised by an ‘ethic of care’ (Andre and Pache 2016). This altruistic orientation makes social entrepreneurship more compatible with the care sector.

There is therefore a clear tension around the compatibility of entrepreneurship and care. This paper examines this tension by exploring the recent emergence of micro enterprises in the care sector. Micro enterprises are organisations with five or fewer workers, and have been actively encouraged by English policy makers. They can be set up under any organisational form, including as charities and social enterprises, although many are established as for-profit companies. Their advocates however argue that they are most likely to be motivated by an altruistic desire to help other people than a desire for economic gain (Lockwood, 2013). These are therefore organisations that may span the boundaries of commercial and social entrepreneurship.

This paper investigates the extent to which micro enterprises offer an alternative solution to the externalisation of care in England through their combination of entrepreneurship with an ethic of care. It draws on 27 interviews with micro entrepreneurs in the English care sector, collected as part of an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded study. It explores the narratives of the micro entrepreneurs themselves including their start-up motivations, attitudes towards profit and aspirations and opportunities for growth. It concludes by arguing that the nature of entrepreneurship within the care sector is quite distinct, as whilst these micro enterprises are more clearly located within the private sector in terms of their organisational form and governance, their motivations and aspirations are much more socially oriented. They may therefore offer a solution to the care sector that is grappling with the need to reduce the costs through private sector entrepreneurship, whilst attempting to retain or even improve quality.