Social entrepreneurship: the new narrative for the practice of the social economy

In recent years, the notion of social entrepreneurship and its manifest linkage with the economic development and social change has quickly gained prominence in the general discourse of academics and policymakers. A social justification or motive is a key issue in the account for its existence. In this sense, the expression “social entrepreneurship” is being utilized to describe what has been traditionally known as practices of social economy. However, differences in what is understood as “social” can be observed in both areas. The purpose of this article is to examine and compare the ideas that underlie and operate in the current narratives of social entrepreneurship with those implicit in the traditional rhetoric in the context of social economy. The main results show a wider conception of the term “social” within the discourse of social entrepreneurship than in the social economy area.Social entrepreneurship, social economy, narrative, story.

Restoring the Garden of Eden: A Ricoeurian view of the ethics of environmental entrepreneurship

Environmental entrepreneurship is increasingly recognized as a means of solving pressing environmental problems; because of this, it is often perceived as an ethical variant of entrepreneurial activity. However, we argue that this perception is flawed since ethics is assumed (not explained) on the premise of its identification with green activities or environmental ideals and intentions. This paper examines this problem and addresses the question of how we can know when, and if, environmental entre preneurship is ethical. As a solution, we adopt Paul Ricoeur's approach to ethics. We argue that the Ricoeurian ethics, with its focus on actions and relationships and its logic of hyperbolic generosity, provides a consistent ethical framework in which to develop our comprehension of ethics in the environmental entrepreneurship field. In particular, Ricoeur's ethical approach brings a distinctive trait to the ethics of environmental entrepreneurship through an other-oriented disposition and a normative standard—to give without any expectations—that can be used to judge ethics in relational actions. The paper can also be of use to environmental entrepreneurs seeking a practical ethical guide that helps them in their decision making, and to policymakers committed with the promotion of responsible environmental businesses.Open Access Funding provided by Universidad de Huelva/CBU

Aspectos dinámicos de la formación en creación de empresas : un estudio empírico

Es comúnmente aceptada en la actualidad la importancia que tiene la formación en creación de empresas, especialmente en la enseñanza superior. A pesar de ello, la literatura sobre el tema no justifica de forma determinante el vínculo entre dicha formación y las actitudes empresariales. En este contexto, el objetivo principal del trabajo es proponer estrategias formativas que favorezcan entre los estudiantes universitarios el desarrollo de actitudes positivas hacia la creación de empresas. Con esta finalidad, se realiza una investigación cualitativa basada en un estudio longitudinal de casos múltiples, centrado en las experiencias formativas de estudiantes de la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona

Políticas de apoyo a la creación de empresas en España. Un estudio de casos

Durante los últimos años ha aumentado el número de instituciones que han mostrado interés por el apoyo y fomento a la creación de nuevas empresas, lo que ha tenido su reflejo en la diversidad de medidas que en la actualidad facilitan la puesta en marcha de iniciativas empresariales. Con el objetivo de añadir una nueva evidencia empírica sobre este fenómeno, en el presente trabajo se identifican, analizan y valoran algunos de los organismos y programas de apoyo a la creación de empresas más relevantes que se han puesto en marcha en España durante las últimas dos décadas. Para ello, se adopta una estrategia de investigación cualitativa, basada en el estudio exploratorio de casos múltiples. Los resultados muestran la importancia de las políticas de apoyo por su contribución a la creación de empresas y a la dinamización del tejido empresarial

Theoretical reflections on narrative in action research

Narrative is an important tool for developing and writing up action research experiences. Its power lies in the fact that narrative construction and narrative recounting are fundamental human communication practices. Narratives are also knowledge producing devices, since they make sense of personal experiences and share that sense-giving with others. However, the twinned duality of narrative knowing (sense-making) and narrative telling (communicating that sense) has often caused narrative as a methodological approach to be disregarded or misunderstood. Our objective is to reflect on how we can best use the narrative method in action research by paying due attention to these issues. In doing so, we consider ontologies, epistemologies and key characteristics. We argue that what has been seen as a weakness in the narrative method, its deep subjectivity, can actually be employed as an analytical strength in action research. We show how examining explanations of context, inherent in narrative processes, can provide rich insights into the meanings of phenomena

Theoretical reflections on narrative in action research.

Narrative is an important tool for developing and writing up action research experiences. Its power lies in the fact that narrative construction and narrative recounting are fundamental human communication practices. Narratives are also knowledge producing devices, since they make sense of personal experiences and share that sense-giving with others. However, the twinned duality of narrative knowing (sense-making) and narrative telling (communicating that sense) has often caused narrative as a methodological approach to be disregarded or misunderstood. Our objective is to reflect on how we can best use the narrative method in action research by paying due attention to these issues. In doing so, we consider ontologies, epistemologies and key characteristics. We argue that what has been seen as a weakness in the narrative method, its deep subjectivity, can actually be employed as an analytical strength in action research. We show how examining explanations of context, inherent in narrative processes, can provide rich insights into the meanings of phenomena

La promoción de la economía social a través del programa Escuela de Empresas Cooperativas. El caso de la provincia de Huelva

The aim of this article is to analyse the impact of the Business School Programme in the province of Huelva as an instrument for promoting business. To do this we use a theoretical approach to the phenomenon of enterprise creation from the perspective of Incubator Theory, which justifies the role of incubator organisations as a stimulant in attracting new firms. Next, we show the most significant findings obtained from the empirical work carried out in the province of Huelva. In particular, we analyse the essential characteristics of new companies and the entrepreneurs who initiated them, from a study of entrepreneurs’ responses to questionnaires. Finally, the strengths and weaknesses of the program are highlighted, using the data obtained from interviews with directors as well as the information gathered from discussion groups.Entrepreneurship, Incubator organisations, Business promotion, Social economy.

La creación de empresas : un estudio empírico sobre los instrumentos de apoyo al emprendimiento en el ámbito rural onubense

Desde hace algunos años, la creación de nuevas empresas ha suscitado un creciente interés debido fundamentalmente al papel que desempeñan en el desarrollo económico de cualquier ámbito geográfico. Ello, unido al reto competitivo al que se ven sometidas las empresas existentes, las cuales han de potenciar incesantemente su agilidad y adaptabilidad a las circunstancias del entrono, las ha convertido en protagonistas indiscutibles del progreso regional y local. Teniendo en cuenta lo anterior, y con el propósito de obtener una visión de conjunto de este fenómeno, en la presente investigación se sintetizan y analizan las principales corrientes teóricas que han estudiado el emprendimiento desde diversos puntos de vista. A su vez, y tomando la Teoría Institucional como marco teórico de referencia, se analizan las repercusiones que han tenido los principales instrumentos de fomento empresarial en la creación de nuevas empresas, dentro del contexto rural del sur de España.------------------------------------ Recently there has been a growing interest in entrepreneurship due to their role in the economic development of any geographical area. This, coupled with the competitive challenge that are subject to existing companies, which have constantly to enhance their agility and adaptability to the circumstances of the environment, has become the protagonists of the local and regional progress. In this context, and in order to obtain an overview of this phenomenon, the main theoretical approaches that have studied the phenomenon are summarized and analyzed in this research. In turn, taking the institutional theory as a theoretical framework, the impact of the support policies for entrepreneurship, within a rural area in the south of Spain, is studied

Las perspectivas empresariales de los estudiantes universitarios : un estudio empírico

Existe un consenso generalizado acerca de la importancia de la figura del emprendedor en el proceso de creación de riqueza. Es por ello, que durante los últimos años se han puesto en marcha numerosas medidas que tratan promover una actitud positiva de la población hacia la creación de empresas, siendo de especial relevancia los factores del entorno que pueden intervenir en tal actitud. Entre ellos, la educación despunta como una variable altamente influyente en el comportamiento emprendedor. En este trabajo se analizan las actitudes hacia la creación de la propia empresa de 384 estudiantes de la Universidad de Huelva y se comprueban las relaciones que existen entre la actitud de los estudiantes y los factores que más han sido empleados para explicar el comportamiento empresarial.There is an extensive consensus about the importance of the role of the entrepreneur in the economical process of creating wealth. Hence, over recent years a variety of measures have emerged to boost a positive attitude towards the growth of new businesses; the surrounding factors that may influence such an attitude are considered of special significance.Among these factors,education appears as a crucial aspect that influences the decision to start a new business. This paper analyses a group of 384 students from the University of Huelva and their attitudes towards establishing their own businesses.We assess the connections existing between their attitudes and those factors more usually used to explain entrepreneurial behaviour

Rethinking the Resources and Responsibilities of University Spin-Offs: Critical Factors in Times of Global Crisis

In recent years, the promotion of university spin-offs has become a measure adopted by many European universities to facilitate the commercialization of new technologies and knowledge that can lead to more sustainable economies and societies. However, the effectiveness of universitybased companies has also been questioned, as many of them are resource-constrained, remain small in size and struggle to consolidate once they leave the university context. This paper addresses two main research questions: what are the critical factors inhibiting the consolidation, performance, and sustainable development of university spin-offs at a mid-range European university, and which critical factors need to be addressed the most thoroughly by the university’s support programs in order to improve their efficiency? To answer these questions, we collected relevant information from a panel of experts and interviewed academic entrepreneurs from a public university in the South of Spain. The analytic hierarchy process was applied to identify and prioritize the critical factors and sub-factors encountered by the university-based companies. The results show that poor management is the biggest critical factor in the consolidation of the spin-offs. One implication, the findings of our study reveal, is the need for university administrators to improve support for university spin-offs in terms of managing the new business as opposed to prioritizing the difficulties associated with the launch. Another is the need to raise awareness among faculties of the importance of finding an appropriate balance between technical and managerial skills in order to improve the chances of entrepreneurial succes