New frontiers in democratic self-management

This book chapter develops an argument on the way legal forms for co-operative enterprise are designed to meet the needs of members. In developing a critique of the investor-owned firm, the role of legal membership and its link to legal identity in establishing a co-operative enterprise are evaluated. The purpose is to distinguish conceptually between common ownership, joint ownership and co-ownership, and their potential influence on future co-operative development. It is argued that the mediation of business purpose and social identity through the choice of legal form influences the power and wealth sharing arrangements of a co-operative enterprise. Furthermore, the emergence of social enterprise has challenged co-operative models based on common ownership by a single stakeholder to produce hybrid models that express co-operative values and principles in new ways

Communitarian governance in social enterprises: case evidence from the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation and School Trends Ltd

Purpose: Prevailing concepts of corporate governance that are based on external shareholder interests have been challenged by a number of authors over the last three decades. In this paper, the core assumptions of communitarian philosophy and values are outlined, together with the way writers imagine these might be enacted in a social enterprise context. These assumptions are then explored using two case studies. Design/Methodology: The study was conducted using participatory action research which involves parties examining current actions together and seeking to improve on them. The value of this approach is based on the plausible, authentic and critical insights it generates into management practice. Findings: Case evidence suggests that companies are able to adopt and operate effectively while deploying communitarian values, and that these values lead to alternative business objectives expressed through new forms of corporate governance. Nevertheless, the adopting of common language does not necessarily mean that social enterprises share a common philosophy. Originality/Value: The key contribution of this paper is to evaluate the institutionalisation of governance and consider the relationship between the form and substance of practice. By considering the link between words and actions, the study concludes that the adoption of a governance framework, or particular language, matters less than the capacity of company members to participate in the development of governance norms that enable them to act congruently with their own beliefs and values

Workforce participation: developing a theoretical framework for longitudinal research

This paper describes and evaluates an action research project on workforce participation at Viewpoint Research Community Interest Company (CIC). By setting out the research protocols devised by Viewpoint to stimulate and study co-operative management, it is possible to abstract a theoretical framework that emerged from a pilot case study. The paper contributes to theory by highlighting not only the potential of action research to catalyse interest in co operative management but also how to engage theoretically with the paradox of a workforce voting to limit its own participation in ownership, governance and management. In this study, the authors interpreted that participants did not automatically equate participatory management with workplace democracy leading to a theoretical perspective that “democratic management is the propensity and capacity of management systems to respond to members’ desires regarding the scope, depth, level and quality of participation in management”. The paper concludes by evaluating the efficacy of Viewpoint’s action research methodology as a strategy for deepening knowledge on workforce participation in co-operatives and employee-owned businesses

The FairShares Model: a communitarian pluralist approach to constituting social enterprises?

Objectives - This paper is an exploration of the intellectual antecedents and philosophical assumptions that underpin the FairShares Model - a set of brand principles and Articles of Association published by the FairShares Association. It contributes to knowledge of the history of the social enterprise movement and its link to contemporary developments in mutual social enterprises. Prior Work - Previous contributions to the literature on social economy have drawn on communitarian philosophy to develop insights into mutual principles. This paper sets out a theoretical framework to evaluate whether the FairShares Model represents a communitarian pluralist discourse on the constitution of social enterprises. Approach - In January 2013, the FairShares Association published guidance on the FairShares 'brand' and 'model' (drawing on work presented at ISBE) to develop the concept of a ‘socialised’ enterprise . The framework developed from prior work is used to assess which aspects of communitarian philosophy are emphasized in both antecedent model rules (identified by the FairShares Association) as well as the FairShares Model (v1.2a). Results - The FairShares Model is theorised as a predominantly communitarian pluralist discourse with some ‘corporatist’ commitments. It represents an evolving set of guidelines for the ‘socialisation’ of enterprise by devising membership rights for two primary stakeholders (labour, users), and two secondary stakeholders (founders, investors). It is designed to reverse the centralising and accumulating tendencies of the private sector without returning assets to state control. It differs from philanthropic models by offering co-operative (par value) shares to three member classes: founders, labour and users, and (ordinary) ‘investor’ shares to all classes of member. Implications - The FairShares Model contributes to knowledge on the 'socialisation' of enterprise by identifying core characteristics of member-owned enterprises that deploy strategies for multi stakeholder ownership, governance and management. Value – By operationalising a communitarian pluralist discourse in the process of constituting a social enterprise, the FairShares Model offers an alternative to private sector models based on the subordination of labour and mutual models based on the primacy of a single stakeholder group

The FairShares Model : an ethical approach to social enterprise development?

This paper is based on the keynote address to the 14th International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing (IAPNM) conference. It explores the question “What impact do ethical values in the FairShares Model have on social entrepreneurial behaviour?” In the first part, three broad approaches to social enterprise are set out: co-operative and mutual enterprises (CMEs), social and responsible businesses (SRBs) and charitable trading activities (CTAs). The ethics that guide each approach are examined to provide a conceptual framework for examining FairShares as a case study. In the second part, findings are scrutinised in terms of the ethical values and principles that are activated when FairShares is applied to practice. The paper contributes to knowledge by giving an example of the way OpenSource technology (Loomio) has been used to translate ‘espoused theories’ into ‘theories in use’ to advance social enterprise development. The review of FairShares using the conceptual framework suggests there is a fourth approach based on multi-stakeholder co-operation to create ‘associative democracy’ in the workplace

New co-operativism and the FairShares model

In this article, Rory Ridley-Duff discusses the differences between ‘old co‑operativism’ and ‘new co-operativism’ and the position of the FairShares Model as part of the latter. The provisions for solidarity between multiple stakeholders make the FairShares Model a rare attempt in an Anglo-American culture to develop solidarity co‑operatives

Cooperative social entrepreneurship: reflections on a decade embedding cooperative studies in social enterprise courses

The rise of social enterprise (SE) offers significant opportunities for cooperative education and cooperative social entrepreneurship (CSE). Internationally, the impulse for SE arose out of changing attitudes to charity trading, sustainable development and the cooperative movement. In England, it has specifically cooperative origins dating back to 1979 at Beechwood College (Leeds). By the 1990s, worker cooperatives and their development agencies were collaborating to create the first SE support organisation and regional agency. Up to 2002, SE was tightly integrated with cooperative development. After 2002, it was reframed following a consultation on community interest company legislation to align with charity and public-sector reform plans. I examine how CSE expresses a more mutual commitment to integrating and extending the application of cooperative values and principles into a wider range of SEs, with an emphasis on solidarity between stakeholders, explicit social aims and multi-stakeholder design principles. In doing so, CSE gives more active consideration to the interests of labour, the local community and wider society in the design and development of cooperative enterprises

FairShares Company - Model Articles of Association

A new model for self-governing social enterprises operating under Company Law

Rendering the social solidarity economy: exploring the case for a paradigm shift in the visibility of co operative and mutual enterprises in business education, research and policy-making

Theories of business are still dominated by a choice between social responsibility (altruistic communitarianism) and private business (neo-liberalism). From the start of the 1990s, this hegemony has been disrupted by research on voluntary action and social enterprise. By philosophically grounding the logics of three approaches to social enterprise, this paper explores evidence of a paradigm shift. The conclusion is drawn that there is no longer a defensible justification for rendering the social solidarity economy as a marginal choice between altruistic communitarianism and neo-liberalism. There is now a broad-based economy of unions, societies, associations (CTAs), co-operatives, mutual financial institutions, employee-owned businesses (CMEs) and socially responsible businesses (SRBs) supporting more than half the world’s population. Business education needs to be reframed as a new choice between social liberalism and pragmatic communitarianism informed by ‘new co-operativism’ that draws extensively on theories of co-operation and mutual aid in member-controlled enterprises

FairShares Model V2.0 : a new model for self-governing social enterprises operating under Association, Company and Co-operative Law.

This document describes the FairShares Model for self-governing associations, co-operatives, companies that operate in England and Wales. It was written for the 1st FairShares Assocation Conference held at Sheffield Hallam University on 1st July 2014. The FairShares Model is more than an approach to creating associations, co-operatives and companies, it is also a methodology for social enterprise development that draws inspiration from co-operative values and principles. It comprises: - A set of brand principles; - Seven diagnostic tools for social auditing, learning and research; - Model rules for associations, co-operatives and companies; - A wiki with supporting documentation / information; - A website with integrated supporter / member management to connect practitioners, educators, consultants and researchers working together to develop the model; - Course curricula to help the above groups to learn about the concepts, principles and practices of FairShares