Images and Concepts of the Third Sector in Europe

Peer reviewe

El enfoque EMES de la empresa social desde una perspectiva comparada

Peer reviewe

Les approches de l'économie sociale et de l'économie solidaire face aux mutuelles de santé en Afrique

Ce papier examine dans quelle mesure les approches "économie sociale" et "économie solidaire" peuvent éclairer les réalités des mutuelles de santé en Afrique, mais aussi leurs limites respectives face à ces pratiques de plus en plus répandues

Fundamentals for an International Typology od Social Enterprise Models: Theoretical and Empirical Foundations

Empowering the Next Generation od Social Enterprise Model

L’actualité de l’économie sociale : des repères historiques, conceptuels et prospectifs

Ce texte se divise en trois parties. Dans un premier temps, nous remontons aux origines de l’économie sociale, en exposant les grandes lignes de l’histoire du mouvement associatif en Europe, avec quelques éléments traitant davantage de la situation belge. Puis, nous tentons de clarifier les débats actuels, en particulier en ce qui concerne le sens du secteur non-marchand, de l’économie sociale et des services de proximité. Enfin, nous traitons des orientations de long terme qu’il nous paraît important de promouvoir et nous esquissons quatre grandes priorités d’action. Notre texte fait parfois référence à la situation spécifique de la Belgique, mais nous tentons également de dresser une typologie et un portrait de l’économie sociale qui dépassent le seul cas belge

Social Capital And Mutual Versus Public Benefit: The Case Of Renewable Energy Cooperatives

One potential major role of social economy organizations in sustainability transitions is the creation and mobilization of social capital. Yet, the social economy gathers very distinct organizational models which may be associated with different types and levels of social capital. Accordingly, the objective of this article is to explore whether, and if so how, the type and level of social capital differ between mutual benefit organizations - which essentially seek to meet their members' needs - and public benefit organizations - which seek to enhance the well-being of a broader community or the society as a whole. The study draws on an econometric analysis of different forms of social capital in two renewable energy cooperatives which are located in Flanders but have clearly divergent orientations toward mutual versus public benefit. The results show that, as compared with an orientation toward public benefit, an orientation toward mutual benefit is associated with lower social identification with the cooperative and weaker ties between members. Our study explores the underlying explanatory mechanisms behind these relationships. Its findings contribute to understanding the potential roles played by cooperatives in sustainability transitions

Explorando a diversidade do comércio justo na economia social

Fair trade (FT) organizations have been quite early taken as examples of social enterprises (SE) and have contributed to the shaping of the SE concept. The goal of this article is to examine more deeply, both at a conceptual and at an empirical level, to what extent FT organizations can be considered as social enterprises. First, we introduce different theoretical frameworks of SE and examine FT in the context of each of these frameworks. In a second step, we use an empirical study on fair trade social enterprises (FTSEs) across four European countries to illustrate and deepen the links between FT and SE, focusing on the goals and the governance structures of FTSEs. It appears that all FTSEs combine in some way economic, social and sometimes also political goals. FTSEs are thus in line with the “hybrid goal” nature of SEs. FTSEs’  governance is also quite specific and often innovative in terms  of organizational architecture and stakeholders’ involvement. Some FTSEs are closer to the European – participatory – approach to social enterprise, while others are closer to US – individual – approaches. Finally, the governance structures of FTSEs seem to reflect quite well their mix of goals.Key words: social enterprise, fair trade, multiple goals, governance, Europe.Organizações de comércio justo (CJ) têm sido tomadas como exemplo de empresas sociais (ES) há bastante tempo e têm contribuído para a formação do conceito de ES. O objetivo deste artigo é examinar mais profundamente, tanto no nível conceitual quanto empírico, até que ponto as organizações de CJ podem ser consideradas empresas sociais. Primeiramente, introduzimos diferentes perspectivas teóricas de ES e examinamos o CJ no contexto de cada uma destas perspectivas. Em um segundo momento, apresentamos um estudo empírico sobre empresas sociais de comércio justo (ESCJ) de quatro países europeus para ilustrar e aprofundar as ligações entre CJ e ES, tendo como foco os objetivos e as estruturas de governança destas ESCJs. Parece que todas estas ESCJs combinam, de alguma maneira, objetivos econômicos, sociais e, algumas vezes, também políticos. As ESCJs alinham-se, portanto, com a natureza de “objetivo híbrido” das ESs. A governança das ESCJs é também bem específica e frequentemente inovadora em termos de arquitetura organizacional e envolvimento dos parceiros (stakeholders). Algumas ESCJs estão mais próximas da abordagem europeia – participatória – da empresa social, enquanto outras estão mais próximas das abordagens americanas – individual. Por fim, as estruturas de governança das ESCJs parecem refletir muito bem o seu mix de objetivos.Palavras-chave: empresa social, comércio justo, objetivos múltiplos, governança, Europa