The political institutionalization of the social economy in Ecuador: Indigeneity and institutional logics

How differing social economy traditions within the global South can combine with state and market sectors to provide alternative development paths has increasingly become a focus of political and policy debate. This paper uses an institutional logics perspective to analyse the interaction between indigenous collective traditions and other institutional logics in Ecuador’s social economy. Results demonstrate how indigenous practice has interacted with other social economy elements to produce novel organizational and institutional forms. Findings from original primary research identify processes of co-existence, accommodation and conflict in the interaction of differing institutional civil society, state and market logics and the institutionalization of the social economy. Critically, processes of conflict generated by contradictory logics have over time helped close down many of the new political spaces, limiting the ongoing inclusion of indigenous institutions and the ability to construct an alternative, pluralistic path to development

Cities, the social economy and inclusive growth: a practice review

The social economy constitutes a range of organisations that have a core social mission, different levels of participative and democratic control by members, and use financial surpluses or profits primarily to achieve their social missions. This research examined the actual and potential roles of the social economy in bringing about inclusive growth that generates more and better jobs in UK cities, particularly for people who are either in or at risk of poverty

Territorial capital as a source of firm competitive advantage: evidence from the North and South of Italy

This paper investigates how territorial capital, defined as a mix of tangible and intangible local resources accumulated over time across different territories, becomes a source of competitive advantage for firms. The study draws upon semi-structured interviews with firms’ owner-managers operating in the North and South of Italy and shows how local resources generate firms’ costs and differentiation advantages through acting as territorial externalities or becoming an essential core asset to the firm. Results demonstrate how local resources are highly interconnected, making territorial capital unique in each place and not easily imitable, which ensures long term competitive advantages for those firms that benefit from its endowment. A mix of advanced local resources developed through long term investment is shown to be more valuable for firms than inherited resources, provided by ‘God’ or ‘ancestors’. Using the concept of territorial capital in this manner provides insights into understanding sources of firm competitiveness related to location and the persistence of territorial economic disparities