Defining the Universe of Social Enterprise: Competing Metaphors

Young, Dennis R.; Lecy, Jesse D.

doi:10.1007/s11266-013-9396-z

Cited by 127 publications

(120 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Thus, this article contributes to the ongoing discussion on the theoretical conceptualization of both cooperatives and social enterprises (Borzaga and Tortia 2006;Defourny and Nyssens 2010;Kerlin 2006;Poledrini 2015;Valentinov 2013;Young and Lecy 2014). Previous work has shown that neo-institutional economic theory, although widely applied in nonprofit studies, can neither adequately explain the existence of traditional, nor third-party-focused cooperatives as a type of social enterprise (Borzaga and Defourny 2001;Laville and Nyssens 2001;Dart 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Whereas nonprofit scholars have increasingly studied and conceptualized the phenomenon of social enterprises, we believe that within the research tradition of cooperatives, a more thorough conceptual understanding of different cooperative organizational forms is needed. Specifically, from an organizational theoretical point of view, the shift from benefitting members to third parties might seem like a simple variation of the collective character of cooperatives, leading to "very subtle distinctions between social cooperatives and many traditional cooperatives" (Young andLecy 2014, p. 1320).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Trust, Social Capital, and the Coordination of Relationships Between the Members of Cooperatives: A Comparison Between Member-Focused Cooperatives and Third-Party-Focused Cooperatives

2015

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In recent years, nonprofit scholars have increasingly studied the phenomenon of social enterprises which has become a generic term describing a wider reorientation among third sector organizations. The emergence of social enterprises has also led to a dynamic of hybridization and broadening in the cooperative sector, similar to an earlier dynamic of "economization", but this time on the other end of the organizational spectrum. This paper aims at developing a finegrained conceptual understanding of how this organizational dynamic is shaped in terms of member coordination, thus contributing to a more comprehensive theoretical understanding of different organizational forms of cooperatives. Specifically, to highlight the difference to traditional member-focused cooperatives, the paper introduces the term third-party-focused cooperatives for those social enterprises which emphasize economic goals as well as control and ownership by a particular community (typically place-based). The key result of the paper is that with the shift from member-to community-focus in cooperatives, the main coordination mechanism becomes one of norm-based trust on the basis of generalized reciprocity. In contrast to traditional maxim-based trust member coordination on the basis of relation-specific reciprocity, this enables third-party-focused cooperatives to mobilize bridging and linking social capital, facilitating collective action aimed towards the community interest. The findings suggest that this identity shift requires a mutual re-positioning between the cooperative and the nonprofit sector, in terms of umbrellas as well as regulatory and legislative bodies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trust, Social Capital, and the Coordination of Relationships Between the Members of Cooperatives: A Comparison Between Member-Focused Cooperatives and Third-Party-Focused Cooperatives

2015

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“…Some lines of thought claim that profit distribution fits the logic of the market and would not preclude business growth; on the contrary, it would create conditions to receive more foreign investment (Chu, 2005;Young & Lecy, 2012). However, the approach of Yunus, Moingeon and Lehmann-Ortega (2010) and Yunus (2006) opposes this view as it argues that social businesses should maximize social wealth and not individual wealth.…”

Section: Social Business: Hybridism Rationale and Management Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Social enterprises, inclusive businesses, and social businesses are some of the terms currently used to refer to organizations that aim to solve social problems efficiently and sustainably using market mechanisms. (Comini, Barki, & Aguiar, 2012;Karnani, 2007;Marques, Reficco, & Berger, 2010;Young & Lecy, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Much of the existing literature falls into one of three main lines of investigation of social businesses (Young, 2007): the European perspective, born from the Social Economy tradition (associations and cooperatives), strongly encourages businesses to carry out public duties; the North American view sees social businesses as businesses that use market logic to try to solve social problems; a third current, proposed by researchers from emerging countries, emphasizes business initiatives aimed at reducing poverty and transforming the social conditions of marginalized individuals. (Comini & Teodósio, 2012;Defourny & Nyssens, 2010;Kerlin, 2006Kerlin, , 2013Young & Lecy, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The International Growth of a Social Business: A Case Study

2015

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In developing countries, initiatives have often been undertaken in order to fight social and environmental problems. Since the 1990s, an increase can be seen in corporate social responsibility actions, as well as increasingly strong activities by civil society organizations. Tweenty years ago, companies and civil society organizations stood wide apart from each other, with often conflicting agendas and resistance to mutual collaboration. This reality has changed significantly. Besides the phenomenon of cross-sector partnerships, we can also observe the expansion of a particular organization type, i.e., the social business, which combines two objectives that were previously seen as incompatible: financial sustainability and the generation of social value. This article aims to discuss the factors that influence the results of a social business operating in three countries: Botswana, Brazil and Jordan. The results allow understanding the challenges involved in constructing social businesses in developing countries as well as a better understanding of the very nature of those businesses, considering the social realities where they operate.

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Comparing social entrepreneurship across nations: An exploratory study of institutional effects

et al. 2015

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Institutional and cultural contexts shape social entrepreneurship differently. This paper explores the roles of culture, socioeconomic development, and governance institutions on the prevalence of social entrepreneurship. The empirical results are based on Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data, including 49 countries across the globe. The results indicate that the negative effect of the level of development holds for entrepreneurial activity in general, but there is no such effect on social entrepreneurship. Of Hofstede's (1980) cultural dimensions, power distance is negatively related to all types of entrepreneurship, and Inglehart's (1997) secular-rational values are positively related to established entrepreneurship. Self-expressive values relate positively with established social entrepreneurship. The results imply that the existence of social problems and/or market failures does not result in higher levels of social entrepreneurship unless the formal institutions are sufficiently developed.

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Defining the Universe of Social Enterprise: Competing Metaphors

Cited by 127 publications

References 12 publications

Trust, Social Capital, and the Coordination of Relationships Between the Members of Cooperatives: A Comparison Between Member-Focused Cooperatives and Third-Party-Focused Cooperatives

Trust, Social Capital, and the Coordination of Relationships Between the Members of Cooperatives: A Comparison Between Member-Focused Cooperatives and Third-Party-Focused Cooperatives

The International Growth of a Social Business: A Case Study

Comparing social entrepreneurship across nations: An exploratory study of institutional effects

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