This paper analyses objective and subjective social and economic performance of Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) in Croatia, Slovenia, and Italian regions of Lombardy and Trentino. More specifically, the main aim is to test: a) the consistency between subjective and objective performance of WISEs and b) the compatibility between their economic and social performance. The rationale of the study is based on the fact that WISEs are commonly labelled as significant socioeconomic actors in Europe that often face various performance-related, i.e. managerial staff shortages. To the best of our knowledge, none of the previous studies have investigated this subject among WISEs in the analysed area. The data was collected using an online administered questionnaire between October 2017 and February 2018. The final sample included 109 organizations (23 organizations from Croatia, 36 from Slovenia, 39 from Lombardy, and 11 from Trentino). Each organization was represented by one highly ranked executive. The objective economic performance indicator was the profit-loss ratio; the objective social performance indicator was the share of disadvantaged population employed at a WISE. The subjective social and economic performance was measured using 18 indicators, and the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that this type of performance should be regarded as a unidimensional concept. The correlation analysis revealed a positive relationship between objective social performance and subjective socioeconomic performance, which indicates that the applied indicators of subjective socioeconomic performance are also relevant as potential predictors of objective social performance and demonstrates that representatives of WISEs tend to be realistic when evaluating their subjective socioeconomic performance.
Rad donosi sažeti prikaz razvoja i preliminarnu analizu postojećeg stanja društve-nog poduzetništva u Hrvatskoj. Aktualnosti ove teme pridonijela je gospodarska, pa i ekološka, kriza te strategije vladinih tijela usmjerene na društveno poduzetništvo. Prvi je cilj rada prikazati nastanak i razvoj tog oblika poduzetništva u Hrvatskoj, koji se odvijao usporedo s tranzicijskim procesom i pridruživanjem Europskoj uniji. Drugi je cilj preliminarni prikaz baze aktera društvenog poduzetništva i njihova kapaciteta. Istraživanje usmjereno na uspostavu te baze provedeno je krajem 2014. i početkom 2015. O akterima društvenog poduzetništva najprije su prikupljeni podaci iz postojećih baza vladinih tijela i drugih ustanova, nakon čega su provedeni kratki strukturirani intervjui s vodećim ljudima detektiranih aktera usmjereni na teme njihove djelatnosti, prihoda i zaposlenika. Dio prikupljenih podataka potom je provjeren usporedbom s podacima Financijske agencije i Registra neprofitnih organizacija. Uspostavljena baza uključuje 90 subjekata, od kojih većinu čine udruge i zadruge (83%). Više od trećine aktera djeluje u Splitsko-dalmatinskoj i Osječko-baranjskoj županiji, dok u šest županija nije lociran nijedan. Ukupni su godišnji prihodi više od polovine aktera manji od milijun kuna, ali je i više od polovine prihoda svih aktera ostvareno tržišnim poduzetničkim aktivnostima. Zaključuje se da društveno poduzetništvo u Hrvatskoj, premda se razvijalo bez institucionalne potpore, predstavlja sve važniji čimbenik gospodarskog oporavka. Njegov kapacitet i potencijal orijentiran je prema socijalno osjetljivom poslovnom modelu. Aktualna državna strategija vezana uz društveno poduzetništvo, kao i zakonska regulativa koja je u pripremi, mogu potaknuti novi val razvoja društvenog poduzetništva kakav ranije, zbog izostanka institucionalnih okvira, nije bio moguć. Ključne riječi: društveno poduzetništvo, društvena ekonomija, treći sektor
This chapter explores management practices at work integration social enterprises (WISEs) in Croatia. WISEs are conceptualized as social mission-oriented organizations whose: 1) (financial) self-sustainability depends on success in conducting continuous commercial activities and 2) social mission is to (better) integrate vulnerable groups into the labor market (e.g., disabled people). The final sample included 23 organizations. The data was collected through in-depth interviews. The interviewees were selected purposively and included one highly ranked executive (director, owner, CEO, etc.) per each organization. The analysis revealed the following fields of management practices as the most significant: generation of business ideas, unique selling points, employee autonomy and decision-making process, division of labor, relationship with the “parent organization,” sources of funding, human resource configuration, staff development activities, and networking.
This chapter focuses on organizations of social entrepreneurship (SE) in Croatia. It primarily aims to 1) measure the level of their entrepreneurial orientation (EO), and social, economic, and overall performance; 2) explore the relationship between organizational EO and these three types of performance. While the topic represents a heavily investigated research field in the context of commercial entrepreneurship, it hasn't caught much attention among researchers of SE. So far, none of the above-mentioned variables have been empirically investigated within the SE scene in Croatia. The sample included 46 organizations, each represented by one highly ranked executive. The main findings revealed a relatively high level of organizational EO and social, economic, and overall performance, as well as a positive relationship among the variables.
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