THE GOVERNANCE CHALLENGES OF SOCIAL ENTERPRISES: EVIDENCE FROM A UK EMPIRICAL STUDY

The social enterprise sector in the UK is going through a period of rapid growth, and is being seen by government as another important vehicle for delivering public services. As a result the issue of public trust in social enterprise is of growing importance. While there is a growing literature on t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of public and cooperative economics 2009-06, Vol.80 (2), p.247-273
Main Authors: Spear, Roger, Cornforth, Chris, Aiken, Mike
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Community organizations
Corporate governance
Enterprises
Focus groups
Governance
International
Nonprofit organizations
Public services
Reform
Social economics
Studies
Trust
United Kingdom
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Summary:The social enterprise sector in the UK is going through a period of rapid growth, and is being seen by government as another important vehicle for delivering public services. As a result the issue of public trust in social enterprise is of growing importance. While there is a growing literature on the governance of voluntary and non‐profit organizations, with some exceptions (e.g. co‐operatives) there has been little research on the governance challenges and support needs of social enterprises. The research reported here aimed to help fill that gap. Based on interviews and focus groups with governance advisers, board members and chief executives it explores the typical governance challenges faced by social enterprises. Based on the research the paper develops a new, empirically‐grounded typology of social enterprises based on their origins and development path, and presents findings about some of the governance challenges that are common across the sector and some that are more distinctive to the different types of social enterprise.
ISSN:1370-4788
1467-8292
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-8292.2009.00386.x