Management Practices at Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs)

Abstract

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.