Les conceptions de l'entreprise sociale en Europe et aux Etats-Unis: convergences et divergences

in Revue Internationale de l'Economie Sociale : Recma, Revue des Etudes Coopératives, Mutualistes et Associatives (2010, September 09), 319(janvier 2011), 18-35

The Emergence of Social Enterprise: Toward a Worldwide Perspective

Scientific conference (2010, June 17)

La performance comparée des opérateurs "titres-services" en Belgique: résultats d'une enquête

Conference (2010, March 09)

Une ébauche d'analyse coûts-bénéfices d'un service civil en Belgique

Conference (2010, February 01)

Social enterprise

Conference (2010)

Social Enterprise

in Hart, Keith; Laville, Jean-Louis; Cattani, David (Eds.) The Human Economy. A Citizen’s Guide (2010)

Does the mission of providers matter on a quasi-market? The case of the Belgian "service voucher" scheme

in Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics = Annales de l'Economie Publique, Sociale et Coopérative (2010), 81(4), 583-610

In 2001, the Belgian government introduced a ‘service voucher’ scheme in the field of domestic (housework) services, following a quasi-market mechanism which fosters competition between providers of ... [more ▼]

In 2001, the Belgian government introduced a ‘service voucher’ scheme in the field of domestic (housework) services, following a quasi-market mechanism which fosters competition between providers of different types as regards sector (for-profit, public, third sector) and mission (seeking profits, home care provision to vulnerable groups and work integration of the unemployed). Empirical evidence suggests that third sector organizations focusing on a social mission recognized by a tutelary regulation are the best performing with regards to the quality of jobs and service organization, leading to a better ‘triangulation’ of the service relationship. On the other hand, for-profit providers, especially temporary work agencies, seem to favour their capacity of adaptation to the desiderata of their clients and costs’ minimization to the detriment of the quality of jobs which are made as flexible as possible. [less ▲]

Exploring the Diversity of Fair Trade Social Enterprises

E-print/Working paper (2010)

Fair trade (FT) organisations have been quite early taken as examples of social enterprises (SE) and have contributed to the shaping of the SE concept. The goal of this article is to examine more deeply ... [more ▼]

Fair trade (FT) organisations have been quite early taken as examples of social enterprises (SE) and have contributed to the shaping of the SE concept. The goal of this article is to examine more deeply, both at a conceptual and at an empirical level, to what extent FT organisations can be considered as social enterprises. First, we introduce different theoretical frameworks of SE and examine FT in the context of each of these frameworks. In a second step, we use an empirical study on fair trade social enterprises (FTSEs) across four European countries to illustrate and deepen the links between FT and SE, focusing on the goals and the governance structures of FTSEs. It appears that all FTSEs combine in some way economic, social and sometimes also political goals. FTSEs are thus in line with the "hybrid-goal" nature of SEs. FTSEs' governance is also quite specific and often innovative in terms of organisational architecture and stakeholders' involvement. Some FTSEs are closer to the European – participatory – approach of social enterprise, while others are closer to US – individual – approaches. Finally, the governance structures of FTSEs seem to reflect quite well their goal mix. This article provides a more solid basis for the often implicit link between FT and SE. Future researches could use our work to explore specific topics of the SE literature (e.g. stakeholders' involvement) in the context of FT. The FT example could also be used to examine further the shifting boundaries of the SE reality. The originality of this article is to apply the SE concept to a specific field and to show how, within this field, there is at the same time (1) a diversity of organisations, reflecting the diversity of SE approaches and (2) a range of specific features (especially in terms of goal mix and governance) distinguishing SEs from other types of organisations operating in the same field. [less ▲]

From Third Sector to Social Enterprise: Concepts and Methods

in Comparative Economic and Social Systems = Jingji Shehui Tizhi Bijiao (2009), 7(4), 112-121

Fondamenti di un approccio Europeo all'impresa sociale

in Laville, Jean-Louis; La Rosa, Michele (Eds.) Impresa sociale e capitalismo contemporaneo (2009)