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Article
Publication date: 1 January 1986

Del Loewenthal

Community enterprises require organisation and thus require people with the skills to initiate and maintain them. Through describing the provision of the first national…

Abstract

Community enterprises require organisation and thus require people with the skills to initiate and maintain them. Through describing the provision of the first national qualification in community enterprise management, this article explores some of the similarities and differences between community enterprises and other forms of management. It is suggested that community enterprise managers require their own learning environment. Broadly, it is claimed that problem‐based, student‐centred learning methods, when utilised specifically for community entrepreneurs, can allow for different individual and group development of managerial expertise. However, there can be difficulties between the language of management and the values and purpose of some of these “enterprises”.

Details

Journal of European Industrial Training, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0590

Book part
Publication date: 23 May 2016

Stefanie Mauksch and Mike Rowe

This chapter develops a community perspective on entrepreneurialization and demonstrates the epistemic value of community-based analysis. It focuses on the particularities of…

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter develops a community perspective on entrepreneurialization and demonstrates the epistemic value of community-based analysis. It focuses on the particularities of socio-economic settings that shape the emergence of social enterprises and allows for a consideration of diverse groups of actors beyond entrepreneurs.

Methodology/approach

The chapter draws from a literature review on UK policies around social enterprise and an ethnographic study of a deprived community in North-West England. It provides an in-depth account of how competition for scarce funds and the new hope around entrepreneurialism are negotiated and translated into action by policy actors in one local community.

Findings

The review contextualizes the evolution of social enterprise in the United Kingdom and highlights the need for grounded analysis of the effects of policies. A range of themes emerge from the ethnographic case: a misalignment between social workers’ and beneficiaries’ expectations and interests; a tendency to shift from holistic welfare to narrow, time-limited interventions; the importance of spatiality for issues of deprivation; and imbalances in the flows of money and attention between different communities.

Social Implications

The chapter questions the emphasis placed upon social enterprise as a source of innovation. The suggested focus on community redirects scholarly debate to the most important group of actors: the socially, politically, or economically excluded target groups of social innovations.

Originality/value

This chapter contributes to our understanding of the roles being played by social enterprises in a community and raises questions about their value as a vehicle of policy and of innovation.

Details

New Perspectives on Research, Policy & Practice in Public Entrepreneurship
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-821-6

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 July 2021

Pimporn Phukrongpet, Hanvedes Daovisan and Panarat Satsanasupint

The purpose of this study is to explore the drivers of innovative behaviour of sustainable community-based enterprises (SCBEs) in the Mahasarakham province, Thailand.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the drivers of innovative behaviour of sustainable community-based enterprises (SCBEs) in the Mahasarakham province, Thailand.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on insights from a qualitative case study method, this paper uses a purposive sampling technique with 30 SCBEs from December 2019 to December 2020. This study uses in-depth interviews and applied content analysis (e.g. theme, categorisation, quotation and coding), using the ATLAS.ti software.

Findings

This case study shows that transforming the community into an enterprise is related to creation, venture and innovative management, sustained in community-based enterprises. The findings reveal that innovative behaviour is associated with intention, thinking, orientation, product development, service, collaboration, competition and technology, which drives SCBEs.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the understanding of community-based group and cooperative community-based enterprise with innovative behaviour, which can drive SCBEs growth.

Details

International Journal of Innovation Science, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-2223

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 March 2012

Robert Smith

Socio‐economic decline in rural areas is a pervasive and debilitating phenomenon in terms of regional development, particularly when former models of economic growth which once…

Abstract

Purpose

Socio‐economic decline in rural areas is a pervasive and debilitating phenomenon in terms of regional development, particularly when former models of economic growth which once stimulated business generation and regeneration can no longer be counted on to do so. In these austere times, models of social and community enterprise are becoming more important. This corresponds to the emergence of theories of community‐based entrepreneurship and social enterprise as explanatory variables. Such theories are used to label enterprising behaviour enacted within our communities, even when the theoretical arguments underpinning these re‐conceptualisations require to be stretched to permit this. Often the resultant explanations are not entirely convincing. The purpose of this paper is to challenge existing conceptualisations of community‐based entrepreneurship and social enterprise.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a case study methodology, the paper reports on the activities of the Buchan Development Partnership (BDP) – a community‐based project situated in the Buchan area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland – demonstrating how individual and community enterprise can be utilized to develop enterprising individuals and communities by growing enterprises organically. The case articulates this process, as it occurred in a rural development partnership using a narrative‐based case study methodology to examine activities and growth strategies.

Findings

The case bridges issues of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial process, community and regional development and tells a story of community regeneration through the process of “Community Animateurship”.

Research limitations/implications

Research, practical and social implications are discussed but in particular the need to adopt a more holistic “bottom up” approach.

Originality/value

This case challenges existing conceptualisations of community‐based entrepreneurship and social enterprise.

Details

Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6204

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 October 2016

Aree Naipinit, Thongphon Promsaka Na Sakolnakorn and Patarapong Kroeksakul

The aims of this study are to study the problems and challenges of community enterprises; to analyze their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats; and to examine the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The aims of this study are to study the problems and challenges of community enterprises; to analyze their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats; and to examine the guidelines of strategy management for community enterprises.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors utilized a qualitative method using in-depth interviews with 25 community enterprises and a focus group of 10 specialists to discuss strategy management of community enterprises, then analyzed the data using content analysis and descriptive analysis.

Findings

The study found that community enterprises face numerous problems, such as marketing challenges and the inability to transfer businesses to the next generation. However, the strong points of community enterprises include the involvement and support of a lot of government agencies and the opportunity presented by consumer requirements for the handicraft of goods and products. In this paper, the authors recommend eight strategic guidelines for the management of community enterprises; they also recommend that the government use the model of the Bangsai Royal Folk Arts and Crafts Centre of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand to set up policies that support community enterprises.

Originality/value

This study will be beneficial for the Department of Agricultural Extension, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative, Royal Thai Government, as a guideline for support of community enterprises in Thailand, and this study will benefit other countries with similarities to Thailand.

Details

Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6204

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 August 2018

Eilidh Finlayson and Michael James Roy

States and development bodies are increasingly stimulating social enterprise activity in communities as an empowering social and economic development intervention. This type of…

1095

Abstract

Purpose

States and development bodies are increasingly stimulating social enterprise activity in communities as an empowering social and economic development intervention. This type of development initiative is often facilitated by actors who are external to communities, and the role of community members is not clear. This paper aims to explore whether facilitated social enterprise benefits or disempowers communities.

Design/methodology/approach

The focus is a case study of a project based in Scotland designed to stimulate the creation of social enterprises involved in community growing. The case study approach involved a mix of methods, including formal (semi-structured) interviews, participant observation and analysis of documentary evidence. Analysis of findings was undertaken using Muñoz and Steinerowski’s (2012) theory of social entrepreneurial behaviour.

Findings

Findings suggest that social enterprise that originates outside communities and is facilitated by external actors is potentially disempowering, particularly when social enterprise development does not necessarily align with community needs. The paper reiterates findings in previous studies that certain roles in facilitated social enterprise require to be community-led. Projects that do attempt to facilitate social enterprise would benefit from community participation at the project planning stage.

Originality/value

If facilitated social enterprise is increasingly promoted as an empowering development intervention, this paper provides insight about how facilitated social enterprise occurs in practice and gives preliminary information about possible barriers to empowerment using this approach to development.

Details

Social Enterprise Journal, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-8614

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 November 2013

Sandy Whitelaw and Carol Hill

In light of the contemporary UK policy framework elevating neo-mutualism and communitarian ethics within social policy, the purpose of this paper is to report on the delivery of…

Abstract

Purpose

In light of the contemporary UK policy framework elevating neo-mutualism and communitarian ethics within social policy, the purpose of this paper is to report on the delivery of an EU project Older People for Older People that tested the proposition that older people in remote and rural communities can contribute to providing services for others in their age group through the creation of sustainable social enterprises – either in “co-production” with statutory public service providers or as new, stand-alone services.

Design/methodology/approach

In the context of a literature based theoretical exploration of the nature of “sustainability”, the paper reports on a series of rural community “case study” social enterprises (e.g. community transport schemes, care hubs, cafés and a radio station; “drop in” and outreach services (including alternative therapies and counselling); ITC training, helping, and friendship schemes; volunteering support and history and culture projects).

Findings

From this, the authors highlight both conducive and problematic circumstances that are intrinsic to community led social enterprise and suggest that sustainability is unlikely to be “spontaneous”. Rather, it will require a complex mix of supportive inputs that is at odds with the innate liberalism of entrepreneurship. The authors also offer a more nuanced conceptualisation of sustainability that moves beyond a simple economic or temporal notion and suggest that the “success” of social enterprises, their worth and sustainability, must be assessed in more multifaceted terms. The authors conclude by reflecting on the nature of this ground in the wider context of the “Big Society” movement in the UK and highlight the inherent tension between “Big Society” rhetoric, the support needed to establish and sustain localised social enterprises, and the expected agency of communities.

Originality/value

The paper is original in three respects: it develops an in-depth empirical consideration of social enterprise sustainability; it does this within a broad policy and theoretical context; and it specifically looks at social enterprise development and delivery in relation to older people and rural contexts.

Details

Social Enterprise Journal, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-8614

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2016

Jane Farmer, Tracy De Cotta, Katharine McKinnon, Jo Barraket, Sarah-Anne Munoz, Heather Douglas and Michael J. Roy

This paper aims to explore the well-being impacts of social enterprise, beyond a social enterprise per se, in everyday community life.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the well-being impacts of social enterprise, beyond a social enterprise per se, in everyday community life.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory case study was used. The study’s underpinning theory is from relational geography, including Spaces of Wellbeing Theory and therapeutic assemblage. These theories underpin data collection methods. Nine social enterprise participants were engaged in mental mapping and walking interviews. Four other informants with “boundary-spanning” roles involving knowledge of the social enterprise and the community were interviewed. Data were managed using NVivo, and analysed thematically.

Findings

Well-being realised from “being inside” a social enterprise organisation was further developed for participants, in the community, through positive interactions with people, material objects, stories and performances of well-being that occurred in everyday community life. Boundary spanning community members had roles in referring participants to social enterprise, mediating between participants and structures of community life and normalising social enterprise in the community. They also gained benefit from social enterprise involvement.

Originality/value

This paper uses relational geography and aligned methods to reveal the intricate connections between social enterprise and well-being realisation in community life. There is potential to pursue this research on a larger scale to provide needed evidence about how well-being is realised in social enterprises and then extends into communities.

Details

Social Enterprise Journal, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-8614

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2010

Alejandra Orozco‐Quintero and Fikret Berkes

The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe the pervasiveness and importance of various types of institutional and organizational interactions across multiple levels for…

553

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe the pervasiveness and importance of various types of institutional and organizational interactions across multiple levels for the management of a community forest enterprise.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper analyzes a long‐standing case in Michoacán, Mexico, the San Juan Nuevo (SJN) enterprise, a community‐based system with a multiplicity of actors, objectives, and partners. Information was collected through 100 semi‐structured interviews. By presenting and discussing the main community‐based development strategy within the overall socio‐political context and achievements of the case, the authors attempt to understand the complexity of cross‐scale institutional and organizational linkages and their role in sustainable resource management.

Findings

SJN enterprise had linkages with some 22 major partners over the years across four levels of organization: local, state, federal, and international. Cross‐scale partnerships were not merely important, but essential for the overall success of the enterprise in the face of uncertainty over resource ownership and lack of legal jurisdiction. These diverse partnerships and interactions enabled robust institutional structures, making possible the development of linkages to help conserve the resource base and create grassroots socio‐economic development for the comuneros.

Research limitations/implications

Further understanding of the importance of partnerships and linkages for the development and maintenance of community‐based initiatives will require the analysis of, and comparison between, several long‐standing case studies.

Practical implications

There is the need to recognize the multiple roles of partnerships, from business networking to research and training, thus unpacking different kinds of capacity building. Actors at various levels can influence management practices in diverse ways, helping to find a balance between local livelihoods and larger conservation needs.

Originality/value

The paper brings a new approach to analyze how indigenous and other rural communities are “opting‐in” to the global economy, through a diversity of partnerships and a complexity of interactions across organizational levels.

Details

Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, vol. 4 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6204

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 January 2019

Min Qin and Su Liang

This paper aims to conceptualize two patterns of user recognition mechanisms and two kinds of user contribution behavior in enterprise-hosted online product innovation community

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to conceptualize two patterns of user recognition mechanisms and two kinds of user contribution behavior in enterprise-hosted online product innovation community and explain their relationships between user recognition mechanisms and user contribution behavior of online product innovation community.

Design/methodology/approach

A Chinese enterprise-hosted online innovation community and an American enterprise-hosted online innovation community are selected as research objects. Four Logit models are developed and some hypotheses are supposed from the perspective of prosocial behavior theory. Objective user data with three months from two online product innovation communities are collected to test with Logit regression analysis.

Findings

Findings show that there are obvious correlations between user recognition mechanisms and user contribution behavior, and there is also an obvious difference in community user activity level between the quantity-based user recognition mechanism community and the quality-based user recognition mechanism community. More specifically, in the online product innovation community with quantity-based recognition mechanism, both variables of peer recognition and community image motivation significantly affect user proactive contribution behavior. In the online product innovation community with quality-based recognition mechanism, the variable of peer recognition significantly affects both user proactive contribution behavior and user responsive contribution behavior; the variable of community image motivation significantly affects both user proactive contribution behavior and user responsive contribution behavior.

Practical implications

Although it is voluntary, online user voluntary contribution behavior still need to be presented, recognized and affirmed by community. For enterprise-hosted online community managers, they should pay more attention to design the reasonable online community user recognition mechanism with the coexistence of quantity and quality.

Originality/value

The theoretical contribution in this study is to enrich the existing research theme about enterprise-hosted online product innovation community. First, it conceptualizes two patterns of user recognition mechanisms. Second, it regards the variable of user contribution behavior as the co-existence of proactive contribution and responsive contribution. Third, from the perspective of prosocial behavior theory, it is an important supplement to explain the mechanism of user contribution behavior in enterprise-hosted online product innovation community. Fourth, it deepens the overall understanding of the relationship between user recognition mechanism and user contribution behavior. This study provides theoretical guidance for enterprises how to design reasonable and efficient online product innovation community platform. The theoretical contribution in this study is to enrich the existing research theme about enterprise-hosted online product innovation community. First, it conceptualizes two patterns of user recognition mechanisms. Second, it regards the variable of user contribution behavior as the co-existence of proactive contribution and responsive contribution. Third, from the perspective of prosocial behavior theory, it is an important supplement to explain the mechanism of user contribution behavior in enterprise-hosted online product innovation community. Fourth, it deepens the overall understanding of the relationship between user recognition mechanism and user contribution behavior. This study provides theoretical guidance for enterprises how to design reasonable and efficient online product innovation community platform.

Details

Nankai Business Review International, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8749

Keywords

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