scholarly journals Social Enterprise Places: A Place-Based Initiative Facilitating Syntactic, Semantic and Pragmatic Constructions of Legitimacy

2021 ◽  
pp. 027614672110407
Author(s):  
Anthony John Samuel ◽  
Gareth Reginald Terence White ◽  
Ken Peattie ◽  
Robert Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Social Goals ◽  
Boundary Object ◽  
The Social ◽  
Economic Good ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Over Time

Social Enterprises are becoming a significant force of social as well as economic good despite facing many difficulties that are brought about by their unique characteristics. Chief among these is the question of their perceived legitimacy that impinges upon their ability to gain funding, acquire contracts and appear as capable organisations to potential partnering institutions. This study explores the means by which Social Enterprises are legitimized through participation in the Social Enterprise Place (SEP) programme in the UK. By examining the Boundary Objects (BO) that span the intersections of the incumbent social groups it identifies three pillars upon which SEPs have facilitated SE legitimacy. These pillars comprise (i) the place-based language (syntactic BO), that enables the identification of (ii) common social goals (semantic BOs), and thereby enables the (iii) mobilization of resources toward their resolution (pragmatic BOs). This research provides insight into the facilitation of legitimacy for Social Enterprises that are engaged in a place-based initiative. By responding to Peterson’s (2016) call for macromarketers to take more note of meso level marketing dynamics in different industries the paper highlights the potential for place to facilitate the legitimacy of SEs. In addition, it reveals a further macromarketing dimension to Boundary Object plasticity whereby they may evolve through syntactic, semantic and pragmatic forms over time.

scholarly journals Corporate governance practices and outcomes in social enterprises in the UK

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Mswaka ◽  
Olu Aluko
Keyword(s):  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Mission ◽  
The Social ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Governance Models ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Enterprise Governance ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the growth of social enterprise in the UK in the context of the renewed interest in the creative use of organisations with a social mission to complement public service delivery. Given the impact of globalisation and increased demands for effective social welfare interventions, this paper specifically focuses on the nature and type of social enterprise governance models and how they influence their outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – The study utilises a mixed method approach involving the complementary use of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Findings – The paper finds that the way in which the social enterprise governance structure is designed ultimately influences its outcomes. In particular, those with stewardship governance models tend to perform better than those with democratic models of governance. This leads to a conclusion that in the social context of the UK, social enterprise should aim for a paradigm shift in the design and selection of governance models. Research limitations/implications – Comparative regional experiences in other regions or social contexts could enrich our understanding of whether these results are applicable across the board. Practical implications – This paper is of potential benefit to researchers and particularly those designing policies for the governance of social enterprise. Originality/value – The study employs innovative analytical theoretical lenses not normally associated with the social economy, namely agency, stewardship and resource dependency theories to provide a more in-depth analysis of the governance of contemporary social enterprise.

scholarly journals Social Enterprise in Quebec: Understanding Their "Institutional Footprint"

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie J. Bouchard ◽  
Paulo Cruz Filho ◽  
Tassadit Zerdani
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Social Economy ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Social Goals ◽  
Social Purpose ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Social

This article explores how the social enterprise concept is used in Québec. Focusing on the historical, institutional, and current conceptual understanding of the social economy in Québec, it explores the related definitions, terminology, and typologies currently in use. The term “social enterprise” is near absent in Québec, mainly due to the highly recognized notion of social economy. However, not all Québec enterprises that pursue social goals fit into the social economy institutional definition. This article proposes a conceptual framework for understanding the modalities of Québec’s field of social economy and other social purpose enterprises. It suggests that “social enterprises” in Québec are those that participate in the social purposes of the social economy without sharing the core and institutionalized characteristics of social economy enterprises.Cet article explore l’usage du terme « entreprise sociale » au Québec. Se basant sur des aspects historiques, institutionnels et conceptuels, l’article explore les définitions et les typologies qui ont cours aujourd’hui. L’expression « entreprise sociale » est rarement mentionnée, dû à la forte reconnaissance de l’économie sociale. Toutefois, il existe des entreprises au Québec qui, tout en poursuivant des objectifs sociaux, ne correspondent pas à la définition institutionnelle de l’économie sociale. La principale contribution de cet article est de proposer un cadre conceptuel pour comprendre le champ de l’économie sociale et des autres entreprises à finalité sociale. Il suggère que les « entreprises sociales » sont celles qui participent aux objectifs sociaux de l’économie sociale mais qui n’en ont pas les caractéristiques institutionnelles.

Growing Pains: The Sustainability of Social Enterprises

2006 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 221-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Government Policy ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
The Social ◽  
Growing Pains ◽  
The Uk

This paper establishes the growing perception of the importance of the social enterprise sector in the UK, and notes that it is currently government policy to encourage growth. However, social enterprises, in common with many small businesses, find growth difficult, and this could impact negatively on their sustainability. The author goes on to explore the reasons for that difficulty, and concludes by suggesting how best to support social enterprise. It is suggested that orthodox growth stimulated by further marketization of this sector could be to its detriment. The paper aims to contribute to knowledge of the social enterprise sector and to the evidence base required by the policy-making community.

Marketing in the social enterprise context: is it entrepreneurial?

2004 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 194-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Entrepreneurial Marketing ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
The Social ◽  
Local Embeddedness ◽  
Marketing Activities ◽  
The Uk

This paper presents some of the findings to emerge from a qualitative study of social enterprise in the UK. The findings discussed in this paper refer to the marketing activities of social enterprises and consider the extent to which these can be described as “entrepreneurial”. This discussion suggests that while social enterprises do engage in entrepreneurial marketing, the local embeddedness of their activities, their not‐for‐profit orientation and challenges posed by social exclusion impact on their marketing activities.

scholarly journals Communicating a social agenda within HEIs: the role of the social enterprise mark

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 328-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Sutton ◽  
Morven McEachern ◽  
Kevin Kane
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Agenda ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Agendas ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose By using the lens of the social enterprise mark (SEM) accreditation which enables social enterprises to “prove” that the interests of people and planet are put before shareholder gain, this study aims to enhance the knowledge of how effectively the social agenda is communicated by higher education institutions (HEIs). Design/methodology/approach By using a qualitative research design, this exploratory study uses a combination of both a focus group and in-depth interviews with HEI holders of the SEM. Findings With a particular focus on University A, this study advances the knowledge around how social agendas and the role of the SEM in particular are used to communicate to HEI employees as a key stakeholder group. Research limitations/implications At the time of this study, fewer SEM accredited HEIs existed, and therefore, the following conclusions are based upon a small select sample of HEIs that held the SEM. Further studies are needed to provide a more representative view of each university’s use of and commitment to the SEM/ Social Enterprise Gold Mark. Practical implications Building on Powell and Osborne’s (2015) observations regarding the role of marketing in social enterprises, the findings of this study offer practical insight into current and or prospective HEI SEM holders as to the role of “social” accreditations, stakeholder perceptions of such marketing initiatives and how they can be used as a vehicle to improve social communications in the future. Originality/value The area of social enterprise and social impact has been evolving in recent decades, but literature in relation to its promotion and communication in the higher education sector remains scant. This study responds to this gap in the literature by providing greater insight into how social agendas and engagement with the SEM, specifically, are communicated by HEIs.

scholarly journals Exploring International and Inter-Sector Differences of Social Enterprises in the UK and India

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 5870
Author(s):  
Philipp Kruse
Keyword(s):  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Shape Features ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Uk

Social Entrepreneurship (SE) describes a new entrepreneurial form combining the generation of financial and social value. In recent years, research interest in SE increased in various disciplines with a particular focus on the characteristics of social enterprises. Whereas a clear-cut definition of SE is yet to be found, there is evidence that culture and economy affect and shape features of SE activity. In addition, sector-dependent differences are supposed. Building on Institutional Theory and employing a mixed qualitative and quantitative approach, this study sheds light on the existence of international and inter-sector differences by examining 161 UK and Indian social enterprises. A content analysis and analyses of variance were employed and yielded similarities as well as several significant differences on an international and inter-sector level, e.g., regarding innovativeness and the generation of revenue. The current study contributes to a more nuanced picture of the SE landscape by comparing social enterprise characteristics in a developed and a developing country on the one hand and different sectors on the other hand. Furthermore, I highlight the benefits of jointly applying qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Future research should pay more attention to the innate heterogeneity among social enterprises and further consolidate and extend these findings.

scholarly journals Social Polarisation at the Local Level: A Four-Town Comparative Study on the Challenges of Politicising Inequality in Britain

Sociology ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 003803852097559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Insa Koch ◽  
Mark Fransham ◽  
Sarah Cant ◽  
Jill Ebrey ◽  
Luna Glucksberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Community Analysis ◽  
Common Features ◽  
Social Polarisation ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Missing Middle ◽  
Insight Into

This article examines how intensifying inequality in the UK plays out at a local level, in order to bring out the varied ways polarisation takes place ‘on the ground’. It brings a community analysis buttressed by quantitative framing to the study of economic, spatial and relational polarisation in four towns in the UK. We distinguish differing dynamics of ‘elite-based’ polarisation (in Oxford and Tunbridge Wells) and ‘poverty-based’ polarisation (in Margate and Oldham). Yet there are also common features. Across the towns, marginalised communities express a sense of local belonging. But tensions between social groups also remain strong and all towns are marked by a weak or ‘squeezed middle’. We argue that the weakness of intermediary institutions, including but not limited to the ‘missing middle’, and capable of bridging gaps between various social groups, provides a major insight into both the obstacles to, and potential solutions for, re-politicising inequality today.

Transitioning towards low carbon solidarity economies?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter North
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Social Economy ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
The Public ◽  
Diverse Economies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Global North ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Socially Excluded

Building on the diverse economies perspective of JK Gibson-Graham, this chapter discusses how conceptions of just and sustainable economies in the context of the Anthropocene can be generated and, more importantly, performed through social and solidarity economies in the global North. It reviews concepts of the SSE in the global North, and discusses the extent that the UK social economy sector has been tamed and neoliberalised as more antagonistic conceptions of co-operative and grassroots economies created by green and socialist activists in the 1970s and 1980s have been transformed into neoliberal conceptions of social enterprise, with an inbuilt assumption that the private sector is more effective than the public. It discusses how in conditions of austerity social enterprise can legitimate the abandonment of socially excluded communities, and that to counter this, the social economy sector in the UK should develop more antagonistic perspectives, learning from Latin Americans. Finally, it discusses the contribution of Transition Initiatives in rekindling conceptions of grassroots sustainable economies.

scholarly journals Social enterprise and wellbeing in community life

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Farmer ◽  
Tracy De Cotta ◽  
Katharine McKinnon ◽  
Jo Barraket ◽  
Sarah-Anne Munoz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Boundary Spanning ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Community Life ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Mental Mapping

Purpose This paper aims to explore the well-being impacts of social enterprise, beyond a social enterprise per se, in everyday community life. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory case study was used. The study’s underpinning theory is from relational geography, including Spaces of Wellbeing Theory and therapeutic assemblage. These theories underpin data collection methods. Nine social enterprise participants were engaged in mental mapping and walking interviews. Four other informants with “boundary-spanning” roles involving knowledge of the social enterprise and the community were interviewed. Data were managed using NVivo, and analysed thematically. Findings Well-being realised from “being inside” a social enterprise organisation was further developed for participants, in the community, through positive interactions with people, material objects, stories and performances of well-being that occurred in everyday community life. Boundary spanning community members had roles in referring participants to social enterprise, mediating between participants and structures of community life and normalising social enterprise in the community. They also gained benefit from social enterprise involvement. Originality/value This paper uses relational geography and aligned methods to reveal the intricate connections between social enterprise and well-being realisation in community life. There is potential to pursue this research on a larger scale to provide needed evidence about how well-being is realised in social enterprises and then extends into communities.

scholarly journals Online feminist publications as social enterprises: Diversifying revenue streams through corporate social responsibility

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Kamila Jambulatova
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Group Analysis ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Editorial Content ◽  
Social Good ◽  
The Social ◽  
Revenue Streams ◽  
Corporate Social

This qualitative study examined how feminist online publications can adopt social enterprise business models. The focus group analysis of the audiences of Refinery29, Bustle, HelloGiggles, and Jezebel first explored the audience's outlook on the commodification of feminism. The focus group also considered plausible ways of adopting social enterprise initiatives to diversify revenue streams of these publications, continue promoting gender equality, and to better establish the images of the publications. During four focus groups, twenty total participants shared a variety of feedback, including their opinions on the commodification of the feminist movement and the commodification of editorial content. They talked about how their purchasing decisions are affected by their desire to contribute to the social good. Other themes identified during the study were white feminism, the trivialization of feminist content, and the importance of companies' policies.

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