scholarly journals Social Enterprises in Rural Areas

2021 ◽  
pp. 252-272
Author(s):  
Roger Evans ◽  
Mervi Raudsaar ◽  
Lāsma Līcīte-Ķurbe ◽  
Eglė Butkevičienė ◽  
Philipp Erpf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Enterprises

scholarly journals Irish rural social enterprises and the national policy framework

2021 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 9-37
Author(s):  
Lucas Olmedo ◽  
Mara van Twuijver ◽  
Mary O’Shaughnessy ◽  
Alan Sloane
Keyword(s):  
Rural Development ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Sustainable Rural Development ◽  
Meso Level ◽  
The Social ◽  
Development Policies ◽  
Rural Development Policies

Abstract There is a growing recognition of the role that social enterprises play in rural areas. In Ireland this is formally acknowledged in recent social enterprises and rural development policies which commit to developing a suite of supports to realise the potential of social enterprises and strengthen their contribution to place-based sustainable rural development. However, these policies offer a generalised approach to social enterprises, compounded to date by the considerable gaps in our knowledge of these organisations. The main purpose of this article is to fill a gap in our understanding of Irish rural social enterprises. Using Defourny & Nyssens’ meso-level framework (2017), this paper presents an analysis of surveys completed by 258 Irish rural social enterprises. Our findings illustrate five clusters which represent different types of Irish rural social enterprises. The findings confirm the validity of applying a meso-level approach for capturing in-country heterogeneity within the social enterprise sector and for informing policy supports for these significant actors in place-based sustainable rural development.

scholarly journals Collaborative Patterns of Long-Term Sustainability in Community Social Enterprises: An International Comparative Case Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunna Kovanen
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Rural Community ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Transformative Power ◽  
International Comparative ◽  
Community Enterprises

AbstractThe article presents results from a research on the relevance and challenges of collaboration for the long-term sustainability of rural community enterprises. The study relies on Communities of Practice and Degrowth theories. Methods include semi-standardised interviews and focused ethnography in two community enterprises in rural areas in Germany and Portugal. Main results confirm the relevance of collaborative relations with residents, public sector, peer organisations and within the teams for both stability and transformative power of the organisations’ work. Respectful handling of privileges and balance in participation and professionalisation support sustainability, whereas institutional stagnation and involuntary degrowth may risk it.

scholarly journals SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT OF LITHUANIA

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolita Greblikaitė ◽  
Rolandas Rakštys ◽  
Donatello Caruso
Keyword(s):  
Rural Development ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Research Problem ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Family Farms ◽  
Entrepreneurship Development

The research problem lays upon disclosing the importance of role of social entrepreneurship in rural development of Lithuania. The paper thė tendencies of social entrepreneurship in Lithuania, to present successful examples of such business for providing recommendations how to improve sit-uation in rural areas in terms of social entrepreneurship development. Lithuanian government has made some steps towards development of social enterprises, social entrepreneurship, and social in-novation, but the a lot remains to be improved. The roots of family business go back only above 20 years and have rather poor traditions in Lithuania. It is tightly related to rural areas especially than agriculture economies are acting as family farms with potential of young social businesses.

A Computational Framework to Support Social Entrepreneurs in Creating Value for Rural Communities in India

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhishek Yadav ◽  
Ashok K. Das ◽  
Janet K. Allen ◽  
Farrokh Mistree
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Quantitative Information ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
Computational Framework ◽  
Value Propositions ◽  
Basic Services ◽  
Corporate Social

Abstract Over 250 million people in India currently lack access to basic services needed to live a rudimentary lifestyle. Most of these people reside in rural parts of the country. Lack of employment, economic opportunities, and development in rural areas are foundational to low socio-economic levels in these communities. Added to this are environmental issues such as natural resource depletion, yearlong droughts, climate change. We hypothesize that social enterprises developed at the community level can improve the quality of life of people in rural India. The lack of access to investment and resources to identify and develop social enterprises are major challenges for the creation of social enterprises. We hypothesize that a successful partnership between two major stakeholders, namely, social entrepreneurs and corporate social responsibility (CSR) investors is the key in developing multiple social enterprises to foster rural development. However, CSR and other investors require quantitative information along with impact evaluation of the value proposition before investing. Social entrepreneurs lack tools to develop and present value propositions for the village in a quantitative form. In this paper, we propose a computational framework to fill this gap and to facilitate dialog between CSR investors and social entrepreneurs that may result in a mutually favorable investment.

Solar turtle: searching for the game changer

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Boris Urban ◽  
Jabu Maphalala
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Solar Panels ◽  
Public Governance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Electricity Grid ◽  
Academic Level

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes are that at the end of the case discussion, the students should be able to evaluate the drivers of social innovation in an African context; discuss social entrepreneurship as a process-driven set of activities; assess the organisation–environment–opportunity fit when innovating; analyse and resolve practical issues in developing simple and affordable social innovations; appreciate how social enterprises are mission-based businesses rather than charities; and evaluate how an organisation may achieve social objectives and remain sustainable. Case overview/synopsis SolarTurtle is an award-winning South African social enterprise that manufactures and supplies secure, mobile, solar power stations and kiosks to communities where the electricity grid does not reach. The company converts shipping containers into housings for solar panels to protect them from theft and extreme weather conditions. These units are called “PowerTurtles”. Through the franchise model, the company supplies PowerTurtles to off-grid institutions in rural areas. PowerTurtles are also sold to private sector enterprises and are scalable to suit the energy needs of customers. With the successful launch of the AutoTurtle in 2018 (which folds away the solar panels automatically, where the PowerTurtle requires them to be folded away manually), the company started to develop a new lightweight, fibreglass, solar kiosk with roof-mounted solar panels called the MiniTurtle, and a mobile trolley version known as the BabyTurtle. Now, in 2018, Van der Walt hopes to develop the business to the point where it can sustain itself. Complexity academic level Post-graduate students of entrepreneurship, public governance and social welfare. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available upon request for educators only. These teaching notes should be shared solely with the instructor and students should not have access to. Please contact your library to gain login or email [email protected] to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

scholarly journals Understanding social innovation processes in rural areas: empirical evidence from social enterprises in Germany

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Martens ◽  
Anke Wolff ◽  
Markus Hanisch
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Allocation Patterns ◽  
Private Actors ◽  
Innovation Processes

Purpose Against the background of increasing infrastructure loss in many rural areas, this study aims to contribute conceptually and empirically towards better understanding of rural innovation processes related to provision of public goods. Design/methodology/approach The nationally focused understanding of innovation processes leads the debate on rural development into a dilemma that this study seeks to sidestep via the concept of social innovation. Community cooperatives – a type of social enterprise that has increasingly emerged in rural areas of Germany in the past decade – offer the opportunity to examine social innovation processes. This cross-case study reveals the broad range of activities in which such cooperatives are active and analyses their social innovation processes. Findings The study shows that the social innovation governance framework enables examination of social innovation processes. Although macro-level policy has appeared to be an important instrument for financing social innovation, public actors at the micro-level seem barely able to initiate social innovation processes unless they are also private actors and, therefore, can pursue additional incentives. The social innovations studied here seem to differ in terms of their actor constellations and resource-allocation patterns, depending on whether they are concerned with the establishment or maintenance of local infrastructure. What they have in common, however, is the initiation of formalised collective-action processes that serve to legitimise social innovation. Originality/value By applying an analytical framework that is new to the literature on social innovation, the study provides insight into the activities and decision-making processes of actors involved in social innovation in rural areas. In this context, community cooperatives have rarely been studied as an interface between public, private and civil society actors or as a platform for mobilising human, social and financial capital.

scholarly journals Analysis of Financial Support Instruments for Social Enterprises in Latvia

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (340) ◽  
pp. 76-84
Author(s):  
Lasma Licite-Kurbe ◽  
Dana Gintere
Keyword(s):  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Financial Support ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
Tax Relief ◽  
Grant Scheme

Abstract Social enterprises have positive effect on sustainable development, and they have become an important instrument for solving social problems (especially in rural areas), as the national and local governments alone cannot solve all such problems. To foster the development of social entrepreneurship, Latvia has introduced several support instruments for social enterprises, which include tax relief, privileged procurement contracts, grants, as well as non-monetary kinds of support. However, social entrepreneurs often point out that support from the national and local governments is insufficient, while the support instruments stipulated in the Social Enterprise Law are not widely used. Therefore, the aim of the research is to analyse national and local government support instruments for social enterprises in Latvia. The research found that the most important financial instrument fostering the development of social entrepreneurship in Latvia is a grant scheme administered by the Ministry of Welfare and the JSC Development Finance Institution Altum, which is available in the range of EUR 5000 to 200000 for investment and working capital. In the period 2017-2020, 94 social entrepreneurship projects with a total budget of EUR 6 million were supported, which could be viewed as significant financial support. In contrast, immovable property tax relief, exemption from enterprise income tax (on profits) and relief from this tax for several categories of non-business expenses are considered by social entrepreneurs to be an insignificant kind of support. There is also lack of experience and practice regarding the inclusion of social criteria in public procurement in Latvia.

scholarly journals Rural social enterprises in Europe: A systematic literature review

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mara Willemijn van Twuijver ◽  
Lucas Olmedo ◽  
Mary O’Shaughnessy ◽  
Thia Hennessy
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
External Support ◽  
Academic Field ◽  
Local Contexts ◽  
Local Involvement ◽  
Rural Places ◽  
Insight Into

There is a growing perception that social enterprises represent a significant solution to the range of contemporary challenges facing rural areas across Europe. However, while much of the existing studies of European rural social enterprises provide a rich insight into specific case studies, as of yet, there is no comprehensive review of the breadth of research currently published on rural social enterprises in Europe. We respond to this gap by providing a systematic literature review incorporating 66 studies of rural social enterprise in Europe. We highlight the range of research in this field and demonstrate how the organisations act as key actors in fulfilling needs of rural areas that are not met otherwise. This systematic literature review confirms that rural social enterprises are characterised by strong local involvement with an ability to combine different goals and resources. Based on this review, we suggest that the rural and local contexts, often combined with tailored external support, are important factors in enabling rural social enterprises. This review also indicates that the academic field is relatively young and rapidly growing, leaving room for new lines of potential research to improve our understanding of these enterprises and their contribution to the development of rural places.

scholarly journals FINANCING OF ORGANIC PRODUCTION IN THE CONTEXT OF IMPACT INVESTING

2019 ◽  
pp. 55-63
Author(s):  
Olena PRUTSKA
Keyword(s):  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Impact Investing ◽  
Responsible Investment ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Global Standards ◽  
Search Market

The article considers and justifies the approach to the financing of organic production as a component of the concept of impact-investing. The essence, features and tools of impact-investment are considered. Impact-investing differences from social investment, socially responsible investment and social entrepreneurship are considered. It is proved that Impact Investment is the newest financial strategy for social development, provides for investments in business projects that initially focused on profit and positive changes in society or the environment It is noted that scientific consideration of impact investing has not yet been given due attention in Ukraine. The subject of research is at the intersection of financial technology, social entrepreneurship and organic agro-production. Impact investing is considered a separate case of social investing with more clearly defined boundaries. Examples of social enterprises both in agriculture and in the restaurant business and in manufacturing are known in Ukraine. Because social entrepreneurship is a business, it has all the rules of the business: niche search, market research, competition, investment, and more. Impact investments help measure the external effects of doing business. With the introduction of the investment impact criterion, it becomes possible to determine what this business impact is, how to measure, study and understand it. It is emphasized that Impact investing is only beginning to develop in Ukraine. Over the past few years, examples of such investments have emerged in Kyiv, Lviv, Odessa, Ivano-Frankivsk and other cities. Most of them have started their business through local businesses and have relatively small initial investments by global standards. The opinion is grounded that investment in the development of organic production can be considered as a form of impact investment. It is concluded that, given the great social importance of the development of organic production, as well as the positive effects that organic agricultural production can potentially have on the development of rural areas, the use of financial resources of agricultural holdings may be promising. It was proposed to provide a differentiated approach to the collection of a fixed agricultural tax (FAS), taking into account the availability of investments in organic agricultural production, which would have prompted agricultural holdings to include organic production units in their structure. Investments in the development of organic agricultural production, which are proposed to be considered as impact investments, would allow domestic agro-holdings to a certain extent “rehabilitate”, improve their image, give their debt to society, and contribute to the development of rural areas.

scholarly journals SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS ONE OF THE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES IN RURAL AREAS OF LATVIA

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Silva Jeromanova-Maura ◽  
Ilmārs Šukjurovs
Keyword(s):  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Contributory Factor ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Growing Period ◽  
Service Departments

Since 1 of April 2018, it is possible to register social entrepreneurship in Latvia as one of the type of business and to take advantage that is only suitable for this type of business. The study analyses how coud social entrepreneurship become one of the opportunities to address social problems, directly in rural areas, where today in Latvia is concentrated the largest population of a socially unprotected groups. This means that, while developing social enterprises and solving social problems in the regions of Latvia, at the same time, also address other issues that are actual today – lack of labour force. For entrepreneurs in rural areas, the lack of labour is the most significant, and there is no problem in Latvian regions with finding a place of residence. The development of social entrepreneurship would also be a contributory factor in the fact that the new generation would not leave the countryside, but try to build up their business using existing infrastructure, including a rural school, kindergarten – it helps to them continue to work as well. In the Latvian countryside most are farmers and crafts companies, whose business is most often expressed seasonality. At the rural areas farmers can support with works during sowing and harvesting, and some works during growing period on organic farms. There is also a growing lack of labour force in the sales companies who support farmers with new technologies, especially in aftersales – service departments. Social entrepreneurship could be one of the solutions, especially since it is very seasonal for repairs, so that it is possible to focus the work on the season by successfully management with the contingent in the countryside. There is a great opportunities to make cooperation with local authorities on this issue, the role of the social business in the development and social Affairs of the rural environment should be clarified. As a result of successful cooperation, social enterprises can become an important contribution to local authorities in addressing the societal challenges of the municipality. The study analyses how important to develop this model of cooperation, as it needs to convince local leaders before work on regional reform begins.

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