scholarly journals Framework for the Promotion of Accountability in the Social Economy: The Specific Case of Private Social Solidarity Institutions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Augusta Ferreira ◽  
Carlos Santos ◽  
Helena Inácio ◽  
Alberto J. Costa ◽  
Ana Maria Bandeira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Research Question ◽  
Social Economy ◽  
Social Solidarity ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Pilot Test ◽  
Legal Compliance ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Hard Law ◽  
The Social

Given the extreme importance of improving the accountability of Private Social Solidarity Institutions (IPSS), both for reasons of legal compliance (hard law) and for reasons of improving legitimacy and notoriety among their stakeholders (soft law), this paper aims to present a framework designed under a more comprehensive research project, for the assessment of IPSS accountability and, consequently, its improvement. This study also present results of the indicators conceived, identifying the main trends of the framework dimensions and sub-dimensions from a pilot test for the years 2018, 2019 and 2020 in Portugal. Given the results, we believe that the framework designed answers the research question: How to promote accountability (social, financial and economic) in the social economy sector, in particular: the case of the IPSS?, however, as this is an exploratory article, it incorporates the limitation that this is a pilot test with only 7 entities.

scholarly journals Sustainable Development in Portuguese Social Economy Entities: The Environmental Responsibility of Private Social Solidarity Institutions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graça Azevedo ◽  
Denise Curi ◽  
Alberto J. Costa ◽  
Ana Maria Bandeira ◽  
Augusta Ferreira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Social Economy ◽  
Social Solidarity ◽  
Environmental Management Systems ◽  
Environmental Responsibility ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Environmental Behaviour ◽  
The Social

Social Economy institutions seek to provide answers to social problems, given that they naturally have a socially responsible mission. This study aims to answer the research question: how sustainable practices, namely environmental behaviour, have been adopted by Portuguese Private Social Solidarity Institutions (IPSS) with the purpose of contributing to Sustainable Development? To achieve this objective, qualitative research was carried out in 31 IPSS, which was framed within the scope of the TFA project (Theoretical framework for promotion of accountability in the social economy sector: the IPSS case). Semi-structured interviews were conducted, with a script based on the literature review, from May to July 2019, with those responsible for the management of these entities. A content analysis was conducted, using the NVivo12 Version 12.6.0 software, which enables data to be coded and categorised, reducing any researcher bias. The results indicate that most entities carry out activities of an environmental nature, related to the reuse of materials, the recycling of waste, the sale of materials for recycling, and user awareness. Several entities expressed financial limitations to the implementation of Environmental Management Systems and their accomplishment. However, the objections presented are not impossible to overcome, according to studies presented in other countries.

scholarly journals The emergence of a Social Innovation Ecosystem in Portugal: An exploratory approach based on the perspective of strategic stakeholders

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-34
Author(s):  
Hugo Pinto ◽  
◽  
Sílvia Ferreira ◽  
Jorge André Guerreiro ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Innovation ◽  
Social Economy ◽  
Hybrid Structure ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Social Solidarity ◽  
Innovation Ecosystem ◽  
Exploratory Approach ◽  
Innovation Dynamics ◽  
The Social

The concept of ecosystem has been used to describe a dynamic set of relationships, services and interdependencies that potentiate the creation, renewal and growth of organizations. Social innovation is largely influenced by ecosystem conditions. The Portuguese social innovation ecosystem is a particularly interesting case study, as it assumes a hybrid structure that expresses a variety of policy schemes, networks and support structures. This article debates the concept of social innovation ecosystem and presents an exploratory approach to its mapping. Based on interviews with strategic stakeholders in the social and solidarity economy and social enterprises, the study elaborates on the specificities of the social innovation ecosystem. The Portuguese ecosystem is comprised of three sub-ecosystems that show different weights, limited connections and overlapping: social economy, social business, and the social solidarity ecosystem. The article concludes with an overview of the current state of social innovation, emphasizing the perspectives of stakeholders on recent experiences that the Portuguese state has developed in establishing dialogue within organizations integrating social innovation dynamics.

scholarly journals To Find Own Path

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Turar Koychuev
Keyword(s):  
Free Market ◽  
Social Economy ◽  
Social Solidarity ◽  
Structure Transition ◽  
Legal Structure ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Social ◽  
Demographic Processes ◽  
Search And Selection ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

The report reviews the search and selection of ideology, concept and models of economic development in the post-Soviet space with account of historical peculiarities, demographic processes, natural resources, scales of country and its economy, new political and legal structure, transition to open and free market economy. It evaluates the current state, defines objectives of development and ways of their implementation for a full-fledged establishment of the social economy, taking a rightful place in the world economy, which is appropriate to its own possibilities and needs, knowledge-intensive and receptive to innovations and in-demand within the international geo-economical space. In the end, must be approved by the inter-state peaceful coexistence, political tolerance, social solidarity, mutually beneficial economic cooperation that ensures a prosperous development of societies and States that Man lived happily ever after.

The Potential Role of Social Reporting in the Decision-Making Process of Cooperatives

2019 ◽  
pp. 115-131
Author(s):  
Fabio De Matteis ◽  
Daniela Preite
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Social Economy ◽  
Social Reporting ◽  
Social Report ◽  
The Social ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Accountability in the social economy sector is very important because it is inherent in the nature of the organizations of this sector. The literature on the topic of social accounting and accountability is abundant and highlights the benefits and the criticisms of social reporting. The objective of the chapter arises from the literature review that highlights how more in-depth studies are needed on the characters and role of social accountability in decision-making processes. In order to answer the research question (How is social reporting performed and how does social information influence the decision making of the management in a cooperative?), the single case study methodology has been adopted, considering embedded units of analysis and focusing on the social report of an Italian retail cooperative (COOP Lombardia). Thanks to the analyzed case study, it is possible to conclude that the social report can represent a tool of accountability that also informs future decisions, realizing a circular relationship between results achieved and decisions to be taken.

PP141 Legal Governance: How Does Law Circumscribe The Social Role Of Health Technology Assessment?

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. 136-137
Author(s):  
Louise Bernier ◽  
Georges-Auguste Legault ◽  
Charles-Etienne Daniel ◽  
Suzanne Kocsis Bédard ◽  
Jean-Pierre Béland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Technology Assessment ◽  
Technology Assessment ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Health Technology ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
List Type ◽  
Hard Law ◽  
The Social

INTRODUCTION:One of the barriers of integrating ethics in Health Technology Assessment (HTA) relates to the social role of HTA (1). The aim of this study is to provide a better understanding of the way by which law circumscribes the social role of HTA. Our hypothesis: HTA's social role is embedded within a mixed governance based on hard law and soft law.METHODS:Three HTA agencies were conveniently selected for our study: Haute Autorité de santé (HAS) (France), National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) (United Kingdom) and Institut national d'excellence en santé et en services sociaux (INESSS) (Québec, Canada). Our analysis of the legal, administrative and procedural documents relating to the existence and assessment processes of these three agencies is guided by the following criteria: 1.The normative strength of the documents (categories of hard law or soft law) (2)2.The definition of the agencies’ social role (1)3.The integration of ethics in the agencies’ mandate.RESULTS:Hard law contributes to establish a general mandate and some legal legitimacy for these agencies. Soft law, grounded in the HTA producers' practices, plays a major role in the legal governance of HTA. Our results demonstrate that these agencies existing practices seem to circumscribe their social role further than their constitutive laws. In this context, social actors become responsible to define, structure and operationalize the implementation of HTA.In addition, the legal framework (hard law) through which HTA unfolds does not clearly support its structural and social role. Despite existing legal frameworks, the normative legitimacy of HTA is not entirely established, as it depends on soft law. Taken altogether, this maintains a persisting conceptual vagueness in HTA governance.CONCLUSIONS:The social role of HTA should be defined either through modifying existing legislations (hard law) or through harmonization of the agencies internal policies and regulations (soft law). Such legal initiatives would help clarify the aims of HTA evaluations: assessments (scientific) or appraisal (value-laden), and therefore give a clearer indication on how best to integrate ethics in HTA.

A review of Gadamerian and Ricoeurian hermeneutics and its application to interpretive accounting research

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-283
Author(s):  
Muhammad Bilal Farooq
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Hermeneutic Circle ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Horizons ◽  
Accounting Research ◽  
The Social ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose The study seeks to address the research question: “How can Gadamerian and Ricoeurian hermeneutics be operationalized in an interpretive accounting research project”? The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to review the key hermeneutic concepts of philosophers Gadamer and Ricoeur; and second, to share insights from the researcher’s experience of applying Gadamerian and Ricoeurian hermeneutics to an interpretive accounting research project. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on the extant literature and the researcher’s own experience using hermeneutics theory in an interpretive accounting research project involving in-depth interviews with organisational managers. Findings The process of interpretation is described using the core concept of the hermeneutic circle where the reader and the text engage in dialogue. The readers’ pre-understandings play a key role in this dialogue and assist in drawing meaning from the text. However, it is necessary for the reader to adopt a critically reflexive approach remaining alert for both unproductive pre-understandings and hidden power structures and ideologies in the text being interpreted. Each reading of a text involves the completion of one cycle of the hermeneutic circle in which the reader transitions from pre-configuration to configuration and ultimately re-configuration concluding with the reader acquiring new horizons of understanding. The researcher’s experience of applying hermeneutic theory to an interpretive accounting research project are reflected on and nine lessons are offered. Originality/value These insights will prove valuable to interpretive researchers within the social sciences, including accounting and management studies, as well as those working in the natural sciences.

scholarly journals Perspectives of Social Entrepreneurship in Portugal: Comparison and Contrast with International Theoretical Approaches

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Parente ◽  
Mónica Santos ◽  
Vanessa Marcos ◽  
Daniel Costa ◽  
Luísa Veloso
Keyword(s):  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Social Economy ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Solidarity Economy ◽  
Third Sector Organizations ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Individual

Abstract: The aim of this article is to present and discuss the perspectives of social entrepreneurship conveyed by third sector organizations in Portugal in the context of the main international theoretical approaches. As part of a research project on social entrepreneurship in Portugal, the article analyses the content of 20 semi-structured interviews with key actors within the Portuguese third sector. It is assumed that the roles these actors play are a clear indicator of the importance their views can hold in defining the social entrepreneurship field in Portugal. This analysis enables us to conclude that heterogeneous views and blurred defined boundaries frame the debate on social entrepreneurship’s processes and definitions, with some actors even rejecting it in favour of other concepts such as “social economy” or “solidarity economy”. Nevertheless, the central issues that arose are associated with the individual qualities of the entrepreneur, as well as the sustainability of the initiatives.

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