Exploring the Social and Solidarity Economy Sector in Greece, Spain, and Switzerland in Times of Crisis

Abstract

In the context of the recent economic crisis and rising inequality, interest in the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) as a viable alternative economic model has gathered pace in Europe. This article, based on an innovative content analysis approach of organizations’ websites from the LIVEWHAT project, provides a snapshot of the SSE sectors’ main features in three European countries, namely Greece, Spain, and Switzerland, to understand how the SSE is practiced in varying contexts, uniquely affected by the current economic crisis, as well as within diverse SSE origins. The findings shed some light on distinct features and similarities indicating that the Swiss SSE sector, in line with its interrelations with the Swiss market economy, shows a greater degree of formalization and professionalization that defines its management structure, main activities, types of beneficiaries, goals, and means to achieve them. On the contrary, the relatively recent expansion of the Greek SSE sector is intertwined with the economic crisis, which has left a critical imprint on the SSE’s management structure, activities, aims, and means of accomplishing them. The Spanish SSE sector’s main features, on the other hand, lie in-between the Greek and the Swiss ones, providing an amalgam of various features.

Principles for Responsible Management Education: An Axiological Approach

“…Some participants feel that diversity should be part of a global policy that is integrated and institutionalized as well as interdepartmental and horizontal—which is to say, collectively borne and implemented in a decentralized manner (Lee-Gosselin et al, 2013). Secondly, participants see solidarity in initiatives intended to democratize the economy through citizen action, particularly local agriculture, fair trade, or solidarity-based financing (Kalogeraki et al, 2018). Thirdly, participants also mention the development of liberated companies, or teal organizations, that transform pyramidal and bureaucratic hierarchies into fluid, efficient systems of distributed authority and collective intelligence (Getz, 2009; Laloux, 2014).…”

The Social and Solidarity Economy: An Opportunity for Young Women’s Work Transitions

“…In factm in the last 15 years, the SSE has brought about a 20% increase in employment (MonzoB n & Chaves, 2016). In a comparative study, Kalogeraki, Papadaki, & Pera Ros, (2018) compare the response of the SSE to the economic crisis in three European countries. Greece, strongly affected by the crisis and with little tradition in SSE, experienced a strong expansion in this type of organization in response to the social and economic needs that were not being addressed by the State.…”

(Non)Environmental Alternative Action Organizations under the Impacts of the Global Financial Crisis: A Comparative European Perspective

“…Even though such organizations are discussed in the recent literature of sustainability [50,51], there is a lack of systematic comparative analyses documenting the extent to which these organizations are environmentally active in European countries or how these may promote resilience in the context of the crisis. It has been shown that those South European countries harder hit by the crisis-Greece and Spain-witnessed higher peaks in newly created alternative organizations and groups, while at the same time, their initiatives tended to be organized more frequently by informal and protest groups compared to those in the other countries [19,52,53]. According to the theories and prior research relating the economic crisis to the declining support for environmentalism [7], one would also expect that in such countries AAOs would not be as concerned for the environment as those in the countries least affected by the economic crisis (e.g., Germany or Sweden).…”