Social Economy Entities Research Articles

Exploring the role of sustainability reporting strategies in promoting sustainable development in social economy entities: The circular economy as a mediator

AbstractThis study focused on the relationship between sustainability reporting (SR), the circular economy (CE), and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including an examination of the mediator role of the CE in the SR–SDGs relationship. The SR concept refers to the ways in which companies communicate with their internal and external stakeholders about their sustainability initiatives. Researchers have confirmed that the CE contributes to the achievement of SDGs based on SR. However, the literature does not offer any comprehensive frameworks that integrate these three concepts, which constitutes an important research gap. More specifically, very few studies have explored how social economy entities (SEEs) report the ways they contribute to achieving the SDGs while implementing CE practices. This research thus sought to make a significant contribution to filling this lacuna. Statistical analyses were conducted to determine how SR influences SDGs and how SR promotes these goals through the CE. Variance‐based structural equation modeling via partial least squares was applied to process data on a sample of 90 SEEs in Spain. The results show that entities that provide sufficient SR often communicate how they are implementing SDGs. CE practices have a significant effect on this SR–SDGs relationship. The findings thus make an important contribution to the literature by exploring the link between these three strategies (i.e., SR, the SDGs, and the CE) in organizational contexts and thus providing a foundation for new business models.

Social Economy entities as key actors to achieve Sustainable Development Goals: an example

The 2030 Agenda and the Dubai Declaration call for immediate action not only to signatory States, but also to sub-states, municipalities and different private actors, as only a private–public collaboration can help us achieve the various United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and a carbon free world by 2050. Among private entities, we highlight the important leading role Social Economy entities can play, as well as private entities that have voluntarily adopted a carbon free goal and different 2030 Agenda targets into their Corporate Social Responsibility processes and policies. We provide an example as regards SDG 12.3.

AN ACCOUNTING INSIGHT ON ROMANIAN SOCIAL ECONOMY ENTITIES SUSTAINABILITY

Social economy has a core importance in creating jobs and delivering goods and services for the disadvantages groups members. Even if no searching for profit, the Social Economy Entities (SEEs) have to maintain a financial stability allowing the continuously fulfilling their social mission. Sustainability is crucial in delivering to the disadvantaged. Romania financed during the years 2020 and 2021 around 2800 SEEs, but not very much is widely presented about their activity. Financial information is still publicly available, so the SEEs economic behaviour may be monitor and even predicted as a trend, using forensic accounting techniques: reviewing the existing public information on public and private sites, analysing the summary of financial statements, as it may be found on the Ministry of Finance online database, and interpreting the evidence so gathered. Within this paper, the sustainability of a sample consisting on 172 SEEs incorporated in Maramureș County, Romania is analysed using publicly available data, including by the use of the indicator of financial distress (Z- Altman score). It reveals that in actual conditions, about 80% of the sample population are in high risk of bankruptcy, only 6% of them being financial sustainable. This research may be useful for national deciders and local social economy facilitators in focusing the aid and support actions, and also for the SEEs initiators, in preparing the best ways of managing the assumed risks.

Measuring Social Economy in Public Statistics: Introduction to the Polish Experience

This article presents the objectives, scope, and evolution of the research on social economy conducted by the Research Centre for Social Economy at the Statistical Office in Krakow (Statistics Poland). It highlights the experience and achievements of public statistics in Poland in surveying social economy entities, including social enterprises.

Tax measures to reduce food losses and waste in the United States and the European Union: a comparative analysis

Target 12.3 of the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda is as follows: “By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.” The implementation of the specific targets of the UN 2030 Agenda, such as this one, presents a significant challenge, as they require immediate action, proper public policies, and unprecedented collaboration between private and public entities and countries. Target 12.3 is intrinsically related to many other targets, so its achievement has a direct impact on several of them. Therefore, it is vital to successfully achieve it, not only to reduce hunger but also to achieve many other Agenda targets and, in particular, to be able to reduce our environmental footprint. Preventing Food Losses and Waste (FLW) is a target within Circular Economy that can be considered to be most instrumental as Target 12.3 tries to prevent food overproduction with better redistribution that not only reduces inputs but also attempts to minimize waste by the donation of food products to Social Economy (SE) entities that help those in need. Circular Economy contributes to the resolution of the three most pressing environmental problems: overuse of resources or overexploitation, global warming, and biodiversity loss, in addition to all the negative impacts derived from these (UN Environment, 2019), preventing food losses and waste is also key to ensure the solution of both a deep social problem a public health one and the most important environmental ones. Even though the urgency of immediate action is clear, various academics, such as Martin Rio, Rogenhofer, and Sandoval Alvarado (2022), highlight that the attention this target receives from professionals remains scarce. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to compare these policies on both sides of the Atlantic, to propose recommendations, and to help raise awareness of the problem of FLW, following a holistic approach for all possible actors involved, as communication is critical to achieve this target. Special attention is paid regarding tax policies in cases where food is donated to Social Economy Entities such as food banks, non-profit foundations, or soup kitchens as taxes can both act as barriers or facilitators to this aim; therefore, it is crucial to implement them correctly to ensure they act as true enablers to achieve the target. Thus, we will be able to assess the tax changes that can help do so by means of a comparison between the existing ones in the United States and the European Union.

ТЕОРЕТИЧНІ АСПЕКТИ РОЗВИТКУ «ТРЕТЬОГО СЕКТОРУ» І СУБ’ЄКТІВ «СОЦІАЛЬНОЇ ЕКОНОМІКИ» В УКРАЇНІ

The article analyzes certain theoretical aspects of the development of «the third sector» and subjects of social economy. The terms «social economy» and «third sector» have long been in circulation in Western economic science, legislation and business practice and today are an important component of the developed countries’ economies. However, for Ukraine they are relatively new, uncommon and insufficiently researched, which, in turn, creates obstacles for their active development. Therefore, the analysis of existing approaches in European economic science and the development of theoretical aspects of the «third sector» and social economy development in Ukraine is a very relevant and important scientific task. The peculiarities of use of the term «social economy» in two different meanings have been established. The first is related to the general theoretical aspects of macroeconomics and certain theoretical and political economic concepts of the «improvement» of capitalism. The second is related to practical embodiment of the idea of mutual aid in the form of a special type of enterprises (organizations) that have a «non-capitalist nature» (do not want to make a profit) and form a separate, special sector of the market economy, consisting of real business entities whose activities are based on the idea of mutual assistance and has a clear social direction. Within the social economy sector, another term stood out and became widespread, which is «solidarity economy» – as a part of the social economy at grassroots level (in individual territorial communities and on the basis of other stable groups of people united by a certain sign of solidarity). Therefore, in the literature, the terms «social» and «solidarity» economy are found both separately and together when it comes to organizations or enterprises of social (solidarity) economy (SSE organizations or ESS). The terms «social economy» and «third sector» are quite close in meaning, because they unite specific non-state, non-profit, socially oriented organizations. However, «the third sector» is a category that includes, but is not limited to, social economy entities. In other words, «social economy» is the largest and most important part of «the third sector». The social economy subjects traditionally include cooperatives, mutual societies, fund associations and social enterprises. All of them have non-profit economic nature and specific legal regulation. In the article, significant attention is paid to the disclosure of these features, common features and differences of various subjects of the social economy.

Leadership in social economy entities illustrated with an example of the Mazowieckie province

Leadership in social economy entities illustrated with an example of the Mazowieckie province

Assessing the digital transformation in agri-food cooperatives and its determinants

The digital transformation (DT) of companies implies the emergence of new business models based on the widespread use of digital technologies. Digital transformation is necessary to improve efficiency, productivity, and market access in a context of increasing competition. In the case of the agri-food sector, DT is also required to address the challenges of food safety, food waste, and sustainability. This research aims to build a theoretical framework and a methodology to assess the global level of DT and its dimensions and factors that influence it in a specific type of agri-food company, namely agri-food cooperatives. These prominent social economy entities follow cooperative principles and play a significant role in rural development, especially in the most backward regions. An empirical analysis has been conducted to validate the methodology and meet the objectives. To this end, a Global Index of DT was built, and data was obtained from a survey of agri-food cooperatives in Andalusia, a southern Spanish region with a long-standing tradition of agri-food cooperatives, which also presents a low per-capita income in the European context. Empirical results effectively reveal that the proposed theoretical framework and methodology expediate the assessment of the global level of DT of agri-food cooperatives and the relevance of certain influential critical factors. In this way, relevant information for cooperatives and policy-makers can be collected to facilitate the implementation of DT.

Social economy entities as a place to develop green skills – research findings

Background: Inner potential of social economy entities to drive an economy toward more circularity, energy renewability, sustainable food production opens their organizational schemes to green skills generation. Organizations operating in social economy can play a key role in learning-by-doing, rising consciousness, stimulating new solutions and operations.
 Research objectives: The aim of the research analyzed in this paper was to identify opportunities for the acquisition and development of green skills among those taking up employment or internship in social economy entities.
 Research design and methods: Various statistical methods were used to analyze the source material and verify the hypotheses, including: descriptive statistics, Pearson's linear correlation coefficient, Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA test. Testing was performed using Statistica 13.3 software.
 Results: The conclusions withdrawn from the research conducted confirm the existence of the potential for the development of green skills inherent in social economy entities.
 Conclusions: The organizational nature of the analyzed entities is conducive to the emergence of skills with less specialized requirements, but with possible qualities conducive to the development of circular behavior. Developing design thinking, creativity, the ability to adapt to future creeds and building resilience are seen as particular opportunities for the development of green skills, as activities involving circular behavior followed along with the desire to acquire these skills.

Social Economy entities to support small-scale fishing: some important success cases in the context of Next Generation Funds

El año 2022 es el Año Internacional de la Pesca y la Acuicultura Artesanales. La elección de este momento pretende proporcionar un hito importante para evaluar el progreso hacia la meta de “apoyar la pesca a pequeña escala” y compartir buenas prácticas en todo el mundo. Sin embargo, la medición de esta meta puede resultar francamente difícil, por lo que conviene comenzar por reconocer la indudable importancia de este tipo de pesca y seleccionar los interlocutores válidos en la materia de cara a poder implementar un plan de acción válido. El momento resulta coincidente con las convocatorias en diversos países de la UE con cargo a Fondos Next Generation, que pueden contribuir a la modernización y transformación del sector, por lo que se analizan los PERTE más adecuados para el caso de España. Entre las buenas prácticas en Planificación Marina para el fomento de la pesca a pequeña escala, queremos destacar las derivadas de la aportación de entidades de Economía Social (ES), ya que pueden convertirse auténticamente en su eje central, ya que las entidades de ES han demostrado ser una forma exitosa de lograr diferentes objetivos relacionados con la creación de empleo, la reducción de la desigualdad, la promoción de la inversión local o la protección social y ambiental responsable en lo que respecta al apoyo a la pesca artesanal y a pequeña escala. Así, el propósito de este trabajo es precisamente compartir los casos de éxito de diferentes tipos de entidades de la ES en el caso de España (cofradías de pescadores, fundaciones, asociaciones y cooperativas) en la implementación de este último objetivo. Potenciar la pesca artesanal sostenible y a pequeña escala (SSF, por sus siglas en inglés) a través de políticas públicas hacia las entidades de ES puede ser fundamental para su logro. Además, en el contexto de los Fondos Next Generation, las diferentes formas de colaboración con este tipo de entes son un valioso punto de partida para proyectos de éxito.

Study on the Condition, Needs and Problems of Regional Social Economy Entities on the Example of Rural Housewives' Circles in Poland

Study on the Condition, Needs and Problems of Regional Social Economy Entities on the Example of Rural Housewives' Circles in Poland

Challenges of the Social Economy Action Plan for Greece in the Light of the Socially Responsible Public Procurement

Purpose: The purpose of the Communication is to present the action plan for the social economy in the European Union. Public procurement is a powerful tool for public authorities to spend public money in an efficient, sustainable and strategic way, especially in times of budgetary constraints (EU Commission, 2017). Annual spending on public procurement in the EU amounts to €2 trillion, so managing it effectively can save significant resources for public budgets and investments, while supporting social and environmental policies. A public procurement strategy requires a change of attitude from public authorities, so that public procurement is no longer seen as a mere administrative process, but as a tool to serve broader objectives and needs, while respecting the rules governing the EU (EU Commission, 2017). With this in mind we will refer to the Action Plan for the Social Economy in the EU (2021) in the light of Socially Responsible Public Procurement in relation to Greece.
 Methodology: Concise review of the Action Plan for the Social Economy in EU in the Light of the Socially Responsible Public Procurement. For this reason, we will refer to Socially Responsible Public Procurement, European policies supporting the Social Economy, and the EU Action Plan for its development. Then we will refer to the Public Procurement Strategy in Greece from the point of view of supporting Social Economy Entities.
 Findings: Presentation of the challenges of the Public Procurement Strategy in Greece in relation to Socially Responsible Public Procurement and the Social Economy Action Plan by extension
 Unique Contribution to Theory Practice and Policy: The contribution of this paper is to inform stakeholders in Greece on the implementation of the Social Economy Action Plan of EU and its link to Socially Responsible Public Procurement. Through this link, the development of Social Economy Organisations can be supported on the one hand and on the other hand it can contribute to the sustainable development of the European economy and of Greece in particular.

Good practice of making art and culture accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing, on the example of the Deafland exhibition at the Silesian Museum in Katowice

The issue of the accessibility of culture and art for deaf and hard of hearing people is the topic of the implementation doctoral dissertation conducted by the author of the article under the supervision of dr hab. prof. University of Lodz Aneta Pawłowska as part of the Doctoral School of Humanities at the University of Lodz and the Association Social Support "Ja-Ty-My" in Lodz entitled: The problem of accessibility of information in public institutions and social economy entities in the field of culture and art for people with hearing loss and disabilities in Poland. Recommendations and standards.
 The article is an attempt to look from the point of view of a researcher - a deaf person - insider, at the issue of the broadly understood accessibility and significance of the Deafland (Głusza) exhibition at the Silesian Museum in Katowice (a breakthrough in Poland in terms of the subject matter and the model of available technical solutions for people with special needs).

Social economy entities as organizational elements of economic civil society in Poland

Social economy entities as organizational elements of economic civil society in Poland

공공주택 공급 관련 법제에 관한 연구

Public housing refers to housing that is built, purchased, or leased and supplied by a public housing business entity under the Special Act on Public Housing with financial support from the State or local governments or the Housing and Urban Fund. Public housing can be broadly divided into public rental housing and public sale housing. Public rental housing is divided into eight types: permanent rental housing, national rental housing, happy housing, and etc.. In addition, so-called public-private self-owned housing was introduced in 2021. Korea's public rental housing system has changed according to the policy regimes of governments on public rental housing, and with these changes, new types of public rental housing have been introduced and the supply of certain types of public rental housing has increased or decreased. And there were also changes in the name and legal basis of public rental housing. The integrated public rental housing type was introduced in 2020 to unify the various types of public rental housing and simplify the occupancy qualifications. Follow-up measures are needed for the establishment of the integrated public rental housing type. Meanwhile, there are doubts about the effectiveness of so-called public-private self-owned housing, such as accumulated equity housing unit for sale and profit-sharing housing unit for sale, introduced in 2021. And until now, public housing was supplied by the State and LH Corporation, but now there is an opinion that the social housing supplied by local governments and social economy entities should be revitalized. However, due to the nature of social housing, social economy entities will experience financial difficulties just like LH Corporation, and these difficulties will eventually be resolved only with the support of the State or local governments. However, such support for social economic entities would be a burden to the State or local governments, and therefore, social consensus on such support should be preceded. In addition, social conflicts are occurring due to the supply of public housing, and social mix policies are being attempted to solve this problem, but another type of social conflict is occurring as a result. Ultimately, social conflicts caused by public housing can only be resolved when there is a social consensus on the overall public housing policy.

Support for social entrepreneurship in Poland under the European Social Fund – changes and challenges

he European Commission directs its financial instruments to the broadly understood social economy sector, including the development of social entrepreneurship. In 2011, the European Commission presented the Social Business Initiative (SBI), defining the activities of the European Union to support the development of social enterprises (key stakeholders of the social economy). According to the assumptions of the European Commission, social enterprises are specific organisations that combine social objectives with initiatives promoting entrepreneurial attitudes, focusing on achieving wider social goals or exerting social impact. Financial support is also intended to generate changes in a broader time perspective in the coming years of the EP’s activity. Since Poland’s accession to the European community in 2004, the social economy (including social enterprises) has received financial support in many areas of its activity. The beneficiaries of the funds covered not only social economy entities (PES), but also institutions supporting the development of the social economy, mainly social entrepreneurship, such as Social Economy Support Centers (OWES). It is mainly these key entities of the social economy – social enterprises have become places of new jobs and motivators of civic activity. The aim of the article is to quantify the financial support received from the European Social Fund in the years 2004–2016 for activities aimed at the development of social entrepreneurship (SE).

SOCIAL ECONOMY ENTITIES IN HEALTH POLICY

The purpose of this article is to analyze the sectoral health policy with particular emphasis on the activities of social economy entities. This paper deals with the characteristics of health policy and address the problem of the role of social economy entities in health policy programming and its implementation. The paper presents and refers to numerous examples of activities of social economy entities that have an impact on creating health policy. It should be noted that social economy entities play an important role in the process of inventing and implementing changes in health policy in Poland.

THE EDUCATION POLICY AND THE ACTIVITY OF SOCIAL ECONOMY ENTITIES

The author presents the issue of the role of the social economy entities in education policy. He points at their growing activity in policy formulation and implementation. Their role allows them to influence – directly and indirectly – both of the policy levels as well as influence the market supply in the area of various market services. They play the supplementary role in both domains, but at the same time – what seems to be critical – increase the pace at which the education system adapts to changing reality to live up to the expectations as to educate and raise the creative younger generation. Evidence of this is the structure of their activity, including the diversity of programmes they carry out, which are designed to implement modern teaching methods, support open-mindedness, proper civic culture, etc.

SOCIAL ECONOMY ENTITIES IN PUBLIC POLICY

This paper focuses on the issue social economy entities and the role they play in the public policy. The paper argues in favour of the thesis that social economy entities are an important component of what can be described as the capacity of the public policy system in a given country. They contribute significant resources – intellectual, organisational, executive [financial], etc. – to the system. The larger these resources are, the more efficient the whole system becomes, i.e. the ability to identify key public issues and to program their solutions, to implement these solutions and to evaluate the results of public policy actions in various forms. It indicates that it is in the interest of the State and the general public to strengthen the social economy entity sector.

SOCIAL ECONOMY ENTITIES IN SHAPING SOCIAL POLICY – DIFFERENT ROLES AND AREAS OF INFLUENCE

This paper analyses a myriad of roles played by the social economy entities in selected sub-areas of social policy, such as family and foster care support, senior citizen policy or prevention of poverty and social exclusion. The author points out the role of social economy entities in programming and implementation, monitoring and evaluation of performance, analysis of challenges and development scenarios, and advocacy for the rights and interests of various groups in need of social policy support.