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Social enterprise as a socially rational business

Article Information:

Title:

Social enterprise as a socially rational business

Author(s):

Rory Ridley-Duff

Journal:

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research

Year:

2008

Volume:

14

Issue:

5

Page:

291 - 312


ISSN:

1355-2554


DOI:

10.1108/13552550810897669

Publisher:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited


Acknowledgements:

The author thanks Professor John Cullen and Professor Phil Johnson for support and guidance. He is grateful to participants at the 3rd Social Enterprise Research Conference, London Southbank University, for a lively debate during the early development of this paper. The author would also like to thank both Pam Seanor and Mike Bull for their good company, interesting conversations and direct support for this work. Lastly, the author would like to thank all the reviewers for their careful, painstaking and helpful comments.

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Abstract:

Purpose – This paper seeks to examine the discourses that influence policy and practice in social enterprises. In institutional circles, arguments are shaped by the desire to protect assets for the community, while entrepreneurial discourses favour a mixture of investment sources, surplus sharing and inclusive systems of governance. A critique is outlined that challenges policy-makers and academics to move beyond the heated debate on “business-like” activity through a deeper understanding of the social relations entered into (and created by) different social entrepreneurial activities.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper is wholly theoretical. First, contradictions are exposed through a review of practitioner and scholarly literature. Thereafter, empirically grounded studies are used to develop a theoretical model that accommodates and accounts for diverse practices.

Findings – A broader perspective, that views human behaviour as a product of, and support system for, our socio-sexual choices, is deployed to extend understanding of social capital. By integrating this into governance theory, workplaces come to be seen as complex centres of community-building, replete with economic and social goals. The concept of “social rationality” is elaborated as an alternative way to understand the legitimacy of social entrepreneurial activity and management practice.

Originality/value – The paper concludes by developing a framework and typology that theorises social enterprise as a heterogeneous business movement. Each form of social enterprise integrates socially rational thinking into its policies and practices. This suggests a different educational agenda for social entrepreneurs oriented towards the equitable distribution, and not accumulation, of social and economic capital.

Keywords:

Co-operative organizations, Governance, Social capital


Article Type:

Conceptual paper


Article URL:

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/13552550810897669

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