scholarly journals Policy framework and legal forms of social enterprise in Central and Eastern Europe

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 875-883
Author(s):  
Daniela Staicu
Keyword(s):  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Research Needs ◽  
Legal Form ◽  
Commercial Activities ◽  
Policy Frameworks ◽  
Legal Forms ◽  
Eastern European Countries

AbstractIn Central and Eastern European countries, the transition to a market economy stimulated civil society initiatives that in the past had been either discouraged or had become part of the Communist state system, and opened new pathways to entrepreneurial initiatives. The 1990s was an open window to the creation of a significant number of non-profit organizations, including the pioneering establishment of the first social enterprises. When these countries became members of the European Union, the process of legal institutionalization of social enterprises started to be discussed and has taken place at various stages. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of the policy frameworks and the legal forms and of social enterprises in eight countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The research seeks to determine the extent to which the development of national policy frameworks influences the development of legal forms under which social enterprises operate. For the purpose of this analysis, data were collected from relevant to this subject country reports, studies, laws released between 2009 and 2016. The research shows that European social enterprises are often ‘hidden’ among existing legal forms either as associations and foundations with commercial activities, cooperatives serving general or collective interests and mainstream enterprises pursuing an explicit and primary social aim. Further research needs to be done to determine the potential for growth of entities operating as associations and foundations with commercial activities. Furthermore, the research concluded that the countries with specific laws on social entrepreneurship generate 61 % of the social economy activity in Central and Eastern European countries. Further research needs to be done to determine if introducing a social enterprise specific legal form, will stimulate the development of the business models under which social enterprises operate and implicitly growth.

scholarly journals Financial sustainability of social enterprise in Central and Eastern Europe

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 907-917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Staicu
Keyword(s):  
Financial Stability ◽  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Financial Sustainability ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Social Mission ◽  
Revenue Streams ◽  
Legal Forms ◽  
Eastern European Countries

Abstract Recent years have seen a burgeoning interest in social enterprise across Europe. In Central and Eastern European countries, the transition to a market economy stimulated civil society initiatives, and opened new pathways for entrepreneurial initiatives, including the pioneering establishment of the first social enterprises. Eight of the Central and Eastern European countries studied acknowledge the functioning of approximately 24000 social enterprises ‘hidden’ among a variety of existing legal forms, out of which 15172 associations and foundations undertaking some economic activity. Relatively little consideration has been given to the longer-term growth and performance of these hybrid organizational forms. To succeed, these ventures must adhere to both social goals and financial constraints. It implies that common forces from multiple actors - government and other public bodies, banks, corporations, investment funds as well as individuals join efforts. Business failure among social enterprises has been attributed to various difficulties related to size, a lack of resources, and finance and funding issues. It is essential to understand which revenue streams ensure financial sustainability in the case of the social enterprise. This paper analyzes the entrepreneurial dimension of social enterprise activity in eight Central and East European countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia, addressing the question of social enterprise revenue streams. Most social enterprises examined are aware of the need to insure financial stability to their social mission and are actively securing and combining a blend of income streams, in order to avoid overdependence on one source of income and insure sustainability. None of the countries are solely depending on market sources. Research limitations were encountered when analyzing the variety of revenue streams due to the fact that some country reports presented also the dimension of a specific revenue, whereas others do not comprise specific numbers.

Legal models beyond the corporation in Australia: plugging a gap or weaving a tapestry?

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bronwen Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Voluntary Action ◽  
Order Effects ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
Legal Form ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Legal Model ◽  
Legal Forms

Purpose This paper aims to explore the availability of new legal models for social enterprise development in Australia, asking the question: what does a distinctive focus on legal form add to the scholarly exploration of social enterprise? The paper has a dual purpose: firstly, to present a general empirical review of the fact, possible causes and implications of the absence of new legal models for social enterprise in Australia; and secondly, to make a polemical argument highlighting some of the advantages of developing a distinctive legal structure for social entrepreneurs in Australia. Design/methodology/approach The paper reconciles two contending accounts. One would stress the absence of new legal models (the “gap” analysis). The other would acknowledge the absence of new legal models, while stressing the relevance of existing legal models for pursuing social enterprise goals. Both accounts are descriptively true, but the tension between them relates in part to the level of analysis (legal-political, collective voluntary action or bottom-up individual actors) and, in part, to longstanding tensions in the conceptualisation of social enterprise. Findings The paper provides evidence of the rising salience of existing cooperative legal forms, rising diversity in the legal model choices of individual social enterprises and the emergence of two significant bottom-up developments in voluntary model rules. The legal-political bottleneck that remains is related to the constitutional structure of federal and state power, key macro-political policy trends in the late 1990s and the distinctive nature of the Australian “wage-earners” welfare state settlement. Originality/value The paper highlights that what may appear as a “gap” in the legal landscape of Australian social enterprise is more nuanced. Despite the striking absence of any distinct new legislated legal models, the overall situation is a complex landscape providing multiple threads for weaving together diverse forms of social enterprise. Although legal frameworks may not be as salient as governance design choices, they generate three important second-order effects: signalling, legitimation and professional networks. Taken together, these may support a case for the distinctive value of a specific hybrid legal model for social enterprise.

Knowledge about basic life support in European students

2014 ◽  
Vol 155 (21) ◽  
pp. 833-837 ◽  
Author(s):  
József Marton ◽  
Attila Pandúr ◽  
Emese Pék ◽  
Krisztina Deutsch ◽  
Bálint Bánfai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Basic Life Support ◽  
Life Support ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
European Students ◽  
Western European ◽  
Eastern European Countries ◽  
European Youth

Introduction: Better knowledge and skills of basic life support can save millions of lives each year in Europe. Aim: The aim of this study was to measure the knowledge about basic life support in European students. Method: From 13 European countries 1527 volunteer participated in the survey. The questionnaire consisted of socio-demographic questions and knowledge regarding basic life support. The maximum possible score was 18. Results: Those participants who had basic life support training earned 11.91 points, while those who had not participated in lifesaving education had 9.6 points (p<0.001). Participants from former socialist Eastern European countries reached 10.13 points, while Western Europeans had average 10.85 points (p<0.001). The best results were detected among the Swedish students, and the worst among the Belgians. Conclusions: Based on the results, there are significant differences in the knowledge about basic life support between students from different European countries. Western European youth, and those who were trained had better performance. Orv. Hetil., 2014, 155(21), 833–837.

Central and Eastern European states in global production linkages: country-level and sector-level analysis

2017 ◽  
pp. 38-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewa Cieślik
Keyword(s):  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Large Share ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Western European ◽  
Eastern European Countries ◽  
Level Analysis

The paper evaluates Central and Eastern European countries’ (CEEs) location in global vertical specialization (global value chains, GVCs). To locate each country in global value chains (upstream or downstream segment/market) and to compare them with the selected countries, a very selective methodology was adopted. We concluded that (a) CEE countries differ in the levels of their participation in production linkages. Countries that have stronger links with Western European countries, especially with Germany, are more integrated; (b) a large share of the CEE countries’ gross exports passes through Western European GVCs; (c) most exporters in Central and Eastern Europe are positioned in the downstream segments of production rather than in the upstream markets. JEL classification: F14, F15.

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