Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

The role of institutional and stakeholder networks in shaping social enterprise ecosystems in Europe

The role of institutional and stakeholder networks in shaping social enterprise ecosystems in Europe PurposeThis paper draws upon prior research that built a theoretical framework for the emergence of social enterprise ecosystems based upon the biological evolutionary theory. This paper aims to extend this previous research by practically applying the said theory to the development of stakeholder and institutional networks across Europe.Design/methodology/approachData from in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus groups were analysed using Constant Comparison Method. Data were generated from discussions with 258 key stakeholders in ten countries across Europe, exploring the historical, political, social, legal and economic factors that influence the patterns of a social enterprise seen in each country.FindingsThe results identify the emergence of four social enterprise ecosystem types (Statist-macro, Statist-micro, Private-macro and Private-micro). These are used to explain the differences found in each of the ten country’s social enterprise ecosystems. The results are discussed in relation to the evolutionary theory in social entrepreneurship and how “genetic” and “epigenetic” factors lead to the divergence of social enterprise ecosystems, and the impact that this has on the stakeholders and institutions that are present within them.Originality/valueA typology of ecosystems is presented, which can be used by policymakers across Europe to understand how best to support their local social economies. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Social Enterprise Journal Emerald Publishing

The role of institutional and stakeholder networks in shaping social enterprise ecosystems in Europe

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/the-role-of-institutional-and-stakeholder-networks-in-shaping-social-hO80tufybh

References (43)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
1750-8614
DOI
10.1108/SEJ-10-2016-0044
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

PurposeThis paper draws upon prior research that built a theoretical framework for the emergence of social enterprise ecosystems based upon the biological evolutionary theory. This paper aims to extend this previous research by practically applying the said theory to the development of stakeholder and institutional networks across Europe.Design/methodology/approachData from in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus groups were analysed using Constant Comparison Method. Data were generated from discussions with 258 key stakeholders in ten countries across Europe, exploring the historical, political, social, legal and economic factors that influence the patterns of a social enterprise seen in each country.FindingsThe results identify the emergence of four social enterprise ecosystem types (Statist-macro, Statist-micro, Private-macro and Private-micro). These are used to explain the differences found in each of the ten country’s social enterprise ecosystems. The results are discussed in relation to the evolutionary theory in social entrepreneurship and how “genetic” and “epigenetic” factors lead to the divergence of social enterprise ecosystems, and the impact that this has on the stakeholders and institutions that are present within them.Originality/valueA typology of ecosystems is presented, which can be used by policymakers across Europe to understand how best to support their local social economies.

Journal

Social Enterprise JournalEmerald Publishing

Published: Nov 7, 2016

There are no references for this article.