Editorial

Citation

Doherty, B. (2009), "Editorial", Social Enterprise Journal, Vol. 5 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/sej.2009.37305aaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Social Enterprise Journal, Volume 5, Issue 1

I am delighted to introduce to you Issue 1 of the 5th Volume of the Social Enterprise Journal (SEJ) published by Emerald publishers. First, I would like to thank the journal board, the selected reviewers and of course the authors for the papers enclosed. I would also like to thank Susan Steiner (Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Management at The University of Tampa) for acting as a guest reviewer for this fourth edition of SEJ. Susan’s research interests include service learning and social entrepreneurship, strategic management, and personal development and organizational change.

It is the aim of SEJ to play a key part in establishing social enterprise (SE) as a recognized sub-discipline by leading the theorisation of SE and developing the international evidence base. The editor will use this editorial to comment on both the papers contained in this edition and to report on some of the international research developments in SE.

The first paper by Monica C. Diochon (St Francis Xavier University, Canada) and Alistair R. Anderson (Aberdeen Business School, Robert Gordon University, Scotland) is a theoretical paper which addresses the lack of conceptualisation within the emerging field of SE. With conceptualisation surrounding SE in its infancy, the emphasis to date has been on the similarities between social and commercial enterprises. In this paper the authors make a valuable contribution by focusing on the key differences in process among SE initiatives, thereby contributing new insights into social enterprising and its capacity for effectiveness. In explaining the impact of differing types on outcomes, practitioners and policymakers can develop more realistic expectations of what can be achieved.

Our second paper by Ash Amin (Department of Geography and Institute of Advanced Studies) from Durham University in the UK is yet another very important theoretical paper. Amin argues that whilst a body of research has emerged examining the economic characteristics of SEs and how they succeed or not in managing the interface between market and ethical priorities, there is a gap in the research on the backgrounds, motivations, experiences and futures of people involved in the social economy. Little is known about what it is like to be involved in the social economy or about what different social actors gain from the experience, yet most academic and policy thinking assumes that engagement in the social economy is both rewarding and empowering. This paper addresses this gap by drawing on case evidence from Bristol (UK) relating to the experience of social entrepreneurs, employees and volunteers.

The third paper by Rory Ridley-Duff from the Faculty of Organisation and Management at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK investigates the impact of asset-locks on the longevity, growth and management styles in UK co-operative SEs. This paper is very interesting in the light of the faster than expected take up of the new SE legal form termed the community interest company (CIC) in UK. CICs are limited companies with special additional features created for the use of people who want to conduct a business or other activity for community benefit and not purely for private advantage. This is achieved by a “community interest test” and an “asset lock”, which ensures that the CIC is established for community purposes and both the assets and profits are dedicated to these purposes. Registration of a company as a CIC has to be approved by the regulator who has a continuing monitoring and enforcement role (www.cicregulator.gov.uk). Since the formation of the regulator in 2004, a total of 2,432 individual CIC’s have now been established in the UK. The value of the paper lies both in the development of a meta-theoretical framework for differentiating forms of worker co-operative, as well as empirical evidence on the impact of asset-locks in the management and development of social enterprises.

Our fourth paper is a research paper by Sarah-Anne Muñoz (Sustainable Development Research Centre in Scotland) looking at the analysis of the perceived barriers to engaging in a procurement relationship. This paper looks at the point of view of both SE practitioners and public sector procurement professionals. In the second edition of the SEJ, Peattie and Morley (2008) identified the competitiveness of SEs when pursuing public sector procurement contracts as an important area for future research. This paper from Munoz reports on the barriers and challenges that face those SEs wishing to develop business with the public sector. The paper also highlights the key areas of support that are required on both sides in order to create a more productive two-way relationship.

Our fifth paper by Fergus Lyon and Leandro Sepulveda (Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research Centre), Middlesex University is a very important contribution in the mapping of SE. There remains considerable confusion and lack of clarity regarding the process of mapping of SEs, despite the considerable resources allocated in the UK to ensuring a common set of methodologies and a range of national, regional and local mapping exercises. This paper draws on previous studies and also from field experience of carrying out regional mapping work. The study is timely as other agencies are currently planning SE mapping studies.

It is pleasing to see the increasing number of international contributions to the SEJ. We would like to invite further international research to be submitted and our journal board is playing a leading role in facilitating this research. Recent developments include UK launch in July 2008 of both the new Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC) at the University of Birmingham and the Social Enterprise Research Capacity Building Cluster at Middlesex University.

The University of Birmingham, in partnership with the University of Southampton, hosts the TSRC. Middlesex University will direct the Social Enterprise Research Capacity Building Cluster and Professor Fergus Lyon will also be the Associate Director (Social Enterprise) in the TSRC, leading a stream of activity focused on research and analysis of SE. The Centre is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Government’s Office of the Third Sector and the Barrow Cadbury Trust for five years initially from 2008 to 2013, and will be dedicated to world class research that analyses, maps and develops further understanding of the SE sector. The Social Enterprise Research Capacity Building Cluster brings together Middlesex, Durham and London South Bank Universities. The cluster will develop four components: collaborative projects involving academics and SEs (in knowledge transfer partnerships), PhD studentships, secondments and finally a small number of vouchers to enable SEs commission the research they need. Initial work will include PhDs on older social entrepreneurs, on ethnic minority related SEs and the 2012 Olympics Legacy, on SE working with youth, and on reconciling business and ethical goals in SEs. Future work is proposing to examine the new opportunities for SEs coming from the low carbon economy, innovative sources of finance and social investment, and the role of SEs in public services. The cluster has set-up an advisory board which includes the international researchers Marthe Nyssens and Carlo Borzago both leading European researchers into social enterprise.

Important research work is also being carried out by other key international research groups. The Centre for Social Economy led by Jacques Defourny at the University of Liege, Belgium, currently carries out several research projects on SEs. First, the work carried out by Marthe Nyssens at the centre investigates SEs and their relationships with the public sector, the market and the civil society. They investigate the role of these kinds of organisations in comparison with business and public bodies in several fields such as socio-professional integration and social care services. Recent work has been developed on the conceptual discussion regarding the terms SE and social entrepreneurship in a European and US comparative perspective. Plus research on the comparative performance of different providers of social care with different missions. As shown in the last issue of SEJ, Ben Huybrechts is also part of this Centre at the University of Liege and is carrying out a comparative analysis of the governance in fair trade organisations in Italy, France, the UK and Belgium.

Also the Social Enterprise Knowledge Network (SEKN) centre in the Americas and Spain has been working together since 2001 (www.sekn.org). Roberto Gutierrez Poveda (Chair of SEKN from the Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia) reports that ten universities are involved in this research network including:

1. 1.

   Escuela de Graduados en Administración y Dirección de Empresas (Mexico).

2. 2.

   Escuela Superior de Administración y Dirección de Empresas (Spain).

3. 3.

   Harvard Business School (USA).

4. 4.

   Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (Venezuela).

5. 5.

   Instituto Centroamericano de Administración de Empresas (Costa Rica).

6. 6.

   Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Chile).

7. 7.

   Universidad de los Andes (Colombia).

8. 8.

   Universidad del Pacífico (Peru).

9. 9.

   Universidad de San Andrés (Argentina).

10. 10.

    Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil).

This network is currently carrying out research into what are the drivers and enablers of effective management of SEs, and what are the challenges and opportunities of inclusive businesses.

In Thailand, Professor Kriengsak Charoenwongsak supported by the Social Entrepreneurship Institute based in Bangkok is investigating the constraints and opportunities for the SE sector in Thailand. The project focuses on the macro level such as legal factors, cultural factors, interaction between social sector and government and business, and so on. The aims are to develop a strategy to promote the growth of SE in Thailand.

In future issues our aim will be to publish research work from these and other international research initiatives. Please could other international researchers also let me know of their work in social enterprise.

Bob Doherty