As formas de comercialização na economia social e solidária e os princípios de comportamento econômico de Polanyi

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the specificities of social and solidarity economy organizations that combine social mission with economic activities in the market. Empirical observation reveals that these organizations, being embedded in a logic market, adopt different forms of commercialization that enable them to sell products and services but always serving a social objective. In order to understand how such forms of commercialization emerge and what their characteristics are, this paper suggests a theoretical framework based on Polanyi’s principles of economic behavior. These principles reveal the existence of three economic regimes and three types of resources that are hybridized by social and solidarity economy organizations, and explain their origins, their roles in the economy, and finally their four hybrid forms of commercialization: not related, related, integrated and incorporated. The proposed typology goes beyond a simple description of what can be empirically observed, and consists in a first attempt at theorizing the issue of hybridization of economic activities in the social and solidarity economy. Besides contributing to the understanding of the complexity and diversity that define the development of social and solidarity economy, this theoretical framework can be helpful in identifying important topics for further research when applied to different national contexts. Key words: social and solidarity economy, commercialization, mission, economic activity, Polanyi.