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Article
Publication date: 3 July 2020

Teppo Eskelinen and Juhana Venäläinen

This paper explores economic moralities in self-organised alternative economies and argues that the diverse economies approach is particularly useful in elaborating the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper explores economic moralities in self-organised alternative economies and argues that the diverse economies approach is particularly useful in elaborating the self-understandings of such economic communities. The analysis focuses on two types of alternative economies in Finland: ridesharing and timebanking.

Design/methodology/approach

Through qualitative data, the paper looks into moments of negotiation where economic moralities of self-organised alternative economies are explicitly debated. The main research data consists of social media conversations, supplemented by a member survey for the participants of the studied timebank. The data are analysed through theory-guided qualitative content analysis.

Findings

The analysis shows that the moments of negotiation within alternative economies should not be understood as simple collisions of mutually exclusive ideas, but rather as complex processes of balancing between overlapping and partly incommensurable economic moralities. While self-organised alternative economies might appear as functionally uniform at the level of their everyday operations, they still provide considerable leeway for different conceptions of the underlying normative commitments.

Originality/value

To date, there is little qualitative research on how the participants of self-organised alternative economies reflect the purpose and ethics of these practices. This study contributes to the body of diverse economies research by analysing novel case studies in the Finnish context. Through empirical analysis, this paper also provides a theoretical framework of how the different economic moralities in self-organised alternative economies can be mapped.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 41 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 July 2023

A.M.D.S. Atapattu, Chandanie Hadiwattage, B.A.K.S. Perera and Dilakshan Rajaratnam

The circular economy concept emerged as the resolution to the destructive linear economy practices. Nevertheless, the transition to a circular built environment is hindered due to…

Abstract

Purpose

The circular economy concept emerged as the resolution to the destructive linear economy practices. Nevertheless, the transition to a circular built environment is hindered due to the ambiguities of the economic value of the concept. Conversely, numerous decision-making tools are applied in the construction industry in assessing economic alternatives, even if there is a gap in utilising these tools in appraising circular economic practices. Hence, this study investigates the potential benefits of applying proven decision-making practices, particularly criteria scoring matrices, in developing circular built environments.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative approach was followed to achieve the aim of the study. A conceptual design of a criteria scoring matrix was developed with a comprehensive literature survey. Semi-structured interviews of a three-round Delphi expert survey were employed to assess the matrix qualitatively and develop the matrix further. Data were analysed using the content analysis method.

Findings

The lack of a value assessment tool in economically assessing the circular economy principles is a key barrier to transcending to a circular built environment. In addressing this issue, this study develops a criteria scoring matrix for circularity value assessment during the design stage of a construction project.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the theory by developing a criteria scoring matrix to measure the economic contribution of circular economy principles. Further, this research contributes to the practice by allowing construction alternatives to be selected, balancing the potential economic return options of a project with the project's contribution to a circular economy.

Details

Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, vol. 13 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6099

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 October 2019

Beatriz Cid, Eduardo Antonio Letelier Araya, Pablo Saravia, Julien Vanhulst, Nelson Carroza and Daniel Sandoval

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the social economy discourses in four regions of Chile, characterized by their internal economic heterogeneity.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the social economy discourses in four regions of Chile, characterized by their internal economic heterogeneity.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an intentional sample, semi-structured interviews were applied to 45 key informants from the public sector, universities, consultant enterprises, cooperatives and civil society organizations. Through a content analysis, thematic axes were identified that allowed to characterize and to recognize the narratives that key informants held about their initiatives, experiences or ventures.

Findings

The results allow us to understand the diversity of discourses and practices about alternative economies, being able to organize them from two axes: the tension between molar and molecular subjectivities; and the tension between reform and transformation (which refers to a transformative type of institutional and socio-material change). These axes propose an interpretative framework that integrates a diversity of distinctions and/or polarities and problematizes the homogeneity of formal economic discourse.

Research limitations/implications

The discourses analyzed by this paper offers representativeness by saturation. It do not allow to ponder for sure the relative presence of each of these discourses in the field of economic diversity. The analysis of what type of actors sustain each type of discourse remains pending.

Social implications

The high discourse heterogeneity makes it possible to foresee major difficulties in terms of political articulation and the visibility of various alternative economic experiences, initiatives or ventures as part of a social transformation movement.

Originality/value

Previous studies developed in Latin America about social and solidarity economy have been focused in objective dimensions as the volume of incomes, expenditures or jobs. This is the first study aimed at characterizing the subjective field of discourse held by different actors who recognize themselves as part of an alternative economy movement.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 47 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 July 2021

Ana Margarida Esteves

This research article addresses the role of processes of normative regulation, driven by distinct approaches to collective action and underlying narratives of social change, in…

Abstract

Purpose

This research article addresses the role of processes of normative regulation, driven by distinct approaches to collective action and underlying narratives of social change, in the construction of “solidarity economy” initiatives as parallel spatialities to that of the mainstream economy.

Design/methodology/approach

This article is based on a comparative case study analysis, informed by aspects of the Grounded Theory and Extended Case Study methods, of an ecovillage, an alternative commercialization network and an “integral cooperative”. The analysis is illustrated with fieldwork data on food production, commercialization and consumption, given its centrality in the construction of human livelihoods and lifeworld.

Findings

The resulting conceptual framework identifies three methodologies of normative regulation: Prefigurative social technologies and capitalizing upon power and reputation to exert influence over other economic actors; being part of a wider class-based emancipatory political project; mobilizing online peer-to-peer platforms and community currencies to construct an alternative institutionality.

Research limitations/implications

This article constitutes an exploratory analysis. Further research, based on the application of mixed methodologies to larger samples, will further expand the setup and applicability of these concepts.

Practical implications

This analysis will allow scholars and practitioners alike to gain a deeper understanding of how different approaches to collective action, based on distinct structural standpoints and narratives of change, constitute alternative economic spatialities to those of the mainstream economy.

Social implications

The comparative approach used in this article, as well as the resulting concepts, have the potential of contributing to the convergence of “solidarity economy” strategies between initiatives and movements with different approaches to collective action, therefore contributing to improve their capacity to exercise influence upon incumbent institutional regimes, as well as promote socio-economic change.

Originality/value

This article aims to bridge a significant gap in the understanding of how “solidarity economy”-based parallel spatialities emerge and coexist with the mainstream economy: It analyses how processes of normative regulation result from narratives of change with distinct approaches to collective action, based on the standpoint of actors located differently within structural power relations.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 42 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 July 2016

Changhwan Shin

With the aim of finding a balance between social and economic benefits, the social economy has reemerged in the crisis of the welfare state. The Fordist welfare state can be…

2295

Abstract

Purpose

With the aim of finding a balance between social and economic benefits, the social economy has reemerged in the crisis of the welfare state. The Fordist welfare state can be characterized by state-provided welfare, the mediation of paid work and welfare by the labor market and redistributive policies. Globally, neoliberalism and the market have given rise to social exclusion; in this context, the social economy is emerging as an alternative to the market domination of societies. This paper aims to construct a conceptual framework of welfare provision in an open innovation era.

Design/methodology/approach

The welfare state system between the Fordist welfare state and post-Fordist welfare state is different on provision and delivery of welfare service. To construct the conceptual relation among the social economy, the state and the market and welfare provision in the social economy, this study mainly used the literature review.

Findings

Attention should be paid to civil society at the local level to ignite social economy through open social innovation. Various social actors in the local community need to change and develop the social economy with collaborative entrepreneurship and collaborative economic mindsets.

Research limitation/implications

This paper presents the welfare service model led by social economy and open innovation, as well as social change. To fill the shortage of welfare provision caused by crisis of the welfare state, social economy is considered as an alternative for neo-liberalism. This study emphasizes that endogenous local development is a prerequisite for social economy as a welfare supplier.

Practical implications

In the social economy, reciprocity, democracy, self-help and social capital at the local level are emphasized. Also, open innovation put emphasis on collaboration economy among the local community, firms and the public sector: this emphasis can be expected to affect the welfare provision system and the social relations surrounding welfare. To address social problem and social needs, the social economy can adapt and apply the open innovation model.

Originality/value

The previous researches on open innovation mainly deal with the business sector and the public sector, but this paper has a focus on the relation between provision of social welfare and social innovation. The social economy is likely to function properly on the foundation of open social innovation.

Details

Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4620

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 9 June 2020

Ieva Snikersproge

Milkerie1 worker cooperative was created after a yearlong labor fight against a factory closure announcement. By creating the coop, Milkerie’s workers set out to prove that if…

Abstract

Milkerie1 worker cooperative was created after a yearlong labor fight against a factory closure announcement. By creating the coop, Milkerie’s workers set out to prove that if workers were given more decision-making power in the economy, it would be possible to create a more inclusive economy that values worker labor and provides them wage-based livelihoods. This chapter describes the historical conditions that the cooperative emerge, shaped its business model and governance structure. If cooperatives are believed to propose an alternative to capitalist enterprises, the case of Milkerie shows how the market pressure turns activism, that is, various types of unpaid voluntary labor, into simple jobs, that is, activities codified by task description and time frame, limiting the possibility to re-imagine the economy collectively.

Details

Anthropological Enquiries into Policy, Debt, Business, and Capitalism
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-659-4

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 8 November 2011

Bruno Frère and Juliane Reinecke

Purpose – The aim of this chapter is to deconstruct the idea of a ‘Big Society’. We do so by underlining the left libertarian tradition in which civil society led economic…

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this chapter is to deconstruct the idea of a ‘Big Society’. We do so by underlining the left libertarian tradition in which civil society led economic activity such as the solidarity economy is embedded.

Methodology – By analysing the thought of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, a key thinker and activist in the 19th libertarian socialist movement, we identify the principles guiding the solidarity economy. We illustrate our argument by drawing on qualitative research conducted on solidarity economy organisations in France.

Findings – The solidarity economy illustrates an alternative to both capitalism and state socialism: libertarian socialism. This chapter demonstrates that this left libertarianism is not a new utopia. It is rooted in the long (but marginal) history of libertarian socialism, which was born in the 19th century.

Originality – An economy managed from the left based on libertarian political principles seems to be a novel experiment. We seek to illustrate what this may look like using the example of the present solidarity economy. However, we also emphasise that this would imply a reversal of the political programme of the ‘Big Society’. It would imply the redistribution of economic and political power not only from the state to local communities, but also from company directors and their shareholders in order to realise not a charitable but an economically empowered civil society.

Article
Publication date: 1 November 2003

Hans Westlund

This paper discusses the concept of social economy. Based on an economic‐historical perspective, reciprocity is seen as the fundamental principle for the social economy. In…

1125

Abstract

This paper discusses the concept of social economy. Based on an economic‐historical perspective, reciprocity is seen as the fundamental principle for the social economy. In contrast to the “official” definitions, social economy is not restricted to only certain juridical forms. From the perspective outlined in this paper, social economy and commercial economy emerge not as opposite poles to each other but as parts of a continuous spectrum. Economic activities dominated by social objectives are also performed in other forms than the juridical forms of the social economy. Commercially‐dominated activities contain social elements as well. There are also many examples of social‐economic activities that expand, increase their commercialisation rate and subsequently are transformed to commercial enterprises. Studies on social features of the economy may thus be performed on a very wide field.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 30 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2006

Brian Ilbery, David Watts, Sue Simpson, Andrew Gilg and Jo Little

This paper sets out to engage with current debate over local foods and the emergence of what has been called an alternative food economy and to examine the distribution of local…

3426

Abstract

Purpose

This paper sets out to engage with current debate over local foods and the emergence of what has been called an alternative food economy and to examine the distribution of local food activity in the South West and West Midlands regions of England.

Design/methodology/approach

Databases on local food activity were constructed for each region from secondary sources. The data were mapped by means of choropleth mapping at postcode district level.

Findings

Although local food activity is flourishing in the South West and, to a lesser extent, the West Midlands, it is unevenly distributed. Concentrations occur in both regions. These may relate to a variety of factors, including: proximity to urban centres and particular trunk roads, landscape designations and the geography of farming types. The products that tend to predominate – horticulture, dairy, meat and poultry – can either be sold directly to consumers with little or no processing, or remain readily identifiable and defining ingredients after being processed.

Research limitations/implications

The findings require testing through a larger‐scale survey using primary data. Many local food producers also supply conventional markets. Further research is required into their reasons for doing so and into whether the local food sector can become a significant alternative to conventional food supply chains.

Originality/value

The paper maps local food activity in England on a larger scale than attempted hitherto. It contributes to debate over the alternative food economy and provides a basis for further empirical research.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 108 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Utopias, Ecotopias and Green Communities: Exploring the Activism, Settlements and Living Patterns of Green Idealists
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-667-6

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