Social enterprises in regional innovation systems: a review of Finnish regional strategies

Abstract

The aim of modern innovation policies is to enhance the innovation capability of regions, their organisations and people. Regional innovation system (RIS) theory has been one of the most popular frameworks for realising innovation policies. Yet, adopting the perspective of sustainable innovation policy where innovation is also seen as a solution to various societal and environmental problems has been slow. Social enterprises (SEs) are discussed here as a means to address those problems, particularly through collaboration between sectors and focusing on social sustainability. The aim of this paper is to identify whether and in what way SEs are communicated as an innovative solution and as a source of innovations for economic and development activities through regional strategies. The data consists of regional innovation and business strategies from all Finnish regions, analysed using qualitative content analysis. We argue that there is a need to go deeper and include effective support mechanisms for SEs in these documents. Better inclusion of SEs as part of innovation systems and communicating this through regional strategies would help to develop SEs and to have them perceived as potential innovators and active entrepreneurial actors in innovation systems contributing to economically, environmentally and socially sustainable development.

Social Enterprise: A Study of Its Prevalence, Role and Characteristics in Swedish‐Speaking Regions of Finland

“…Disabled people’s workshops were mentioned in a few as potential providers of products and services procured by the municipality, but SEs as such were not mentioned. The results were thus quite similar to those of Rinkinen et al () concerning Finnish regional innovation and business strategies.…”

“…The survey responses – when compared also with recent studies in the Finnish‐speaking regions and companies (e.g. Khan et al ; Rinkinen et al ; Konsti‐Laakso et al ; Melkas et al ) – showed some more positive preconditions for SEs and their operations in the Swedish‐speaking regions. It appears that the local and regional visibility and support networks may be better in these regions.…”

“…The study contributes to examining SE development in varying regional and community contexts; for example, regional differences in SE support (Kerlin ; Munoz ; Pinch & Sunley ); the effects of culture (Puumalainen et al ); and importance of local networks (Roy et al ). The regional innovation and business strategies’ development (Heckl et al ; Rinkinen et al ) could also benefit from the results of this study. Moreover, the study complements recent SE research on Finland, in particular (e.g.…”

“…The questions were drafted on the basis of the Social Enterprise Research Network EMES' criteria of SEs (Defourny 2001;Defourny & Nyssens 2012) as well as recent research on Finnish SEs (e.g. Koskela et al 2013;Khan et al 2015;Sjögrén et al 2015;Konsti-Laakso et al 2016;Rinkinen et al 2016;Melkas et al 2017). Due to the limited number of responses, they are not quantified.…”

“…Lepoutre et al (2013) also highlighted the importance of innovation among the criteria of SEs. In the research literature, social entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurship have been emphasised, whereas SEs as entities or 'communities of practice' have received less attention, although that would better reflect the current broader understanding of innovation (Rinkinen et al 2016). Kotiranta and Widgrén (2015) produced a comprehensive analysis of the state of the SEs in Finland.…”