The social impact of work-integration social enterprise in Hong Kong

Abstract

Work-integration social enterprises (WISEs), established mainly by non-government welfare agencies and managed by social workers, provide disadvantaged groups with an opportunity for employment and training in businesses. The participants benefit in terms of income, and also through expanded social networks and improved psycho-social well-being. WISEs thus contribute to poverty alleviation and social capital building.

Emerging models of social enterprise in Eastern Asia: a cross‐country analysis

“…It was only in the late 1990s that the New Public Management paradigm began to transform bureaucratic hierarchy into a nexus of contracts. Moreover, despite overall increases in welfare expenditures, due to the economic distress suffered by citizens after the financial crisis, government funding for NGOs declined during the 2000s (Ho and Chan, 2010). This of course exerted a considerable pressure on NGOs that had traditionally relied on government subsidies and it reinforced their incentive to look for other sources of funding, especially through market-oriented activities.…”

“…As to Hong Kong, Ho and Chan (2010) explain that the rapid development of WISEs in this region was strongly related to the drastic rise of unemployment (from 2.2 percent in 1997 to 7.9 percent in 2003) and to the adoption of a "welfare-to-work" approach in social welfare policies. More precisely, various programs were launched to In Taiwan, as in Hong Kong, various types of social enterprises (non-profit social welfare agencies for the disabled, sheltered workshops,…) primarily emerged to provide disadvantaged people with training and employment services and opportunities.…”

Full Issue

“…Second, the Confucianism-based and collectivist culture of Hong Kong has made elderly people adopt a self-restrained attitude to avoid becoming a burden on the younger generation (Luo & Chui, 2016), thus resulting in the demand for social enterprises that would employ elderly people. Third, the financial crisis and economic downturn since 1997 have caused an increase in welfare expenditure as well as a decrease in government funding for nongovernmental organisations, which has engendered a change in welfare philosophy and the rise of social enterprises in the region (Ho & Chan, 2010).…”

User co-production of public service delivery: Effects on trust

“…This is because they entail social goals, and emphasize 'trust between producers and consumers by minimizing or eliminating opportunistic behavior' (Pestoff, 2009: 136). Indeed, research shows evidence that TSOs providing activation services can have positive effects on social outcomes such as self-efficacy and social capital through high levels of user participation (Hazenberg et al, 2014;Ho and Chan, 2010). Needham (2008: 223) also concludes that co-production 'can be a therapeutic tool (building trust and communication between participants, allowing bureaucrats and citizens to explain their perspective and listen to others)'.…”