Social Enterprise in Central and Eastern European Countries

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

This panel proposal is based on papers derived from country contributions to the International Comparative Social Enterprise Models (ICSEM) Project launched in July 2013.

The ICSEM Project is a worldwide research project aiming to compare social enterprise models across countries. Over 200 researchers are working together under the coordination of Jacques Defourny (CES, University of Liege, Belgium) and Marthe Nyssens (CIRTES, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium). Some 50 countries are covered, in all regions of the world.

So far, the ICSEM Project has resulted in “country contributions” prepared by local research partners to address three major topics:

1. Understanding contexts and concepts

The first part deals with historical, contextual and conceptual issues about the emergence of social enterprise in each country.

2. Mapping social enterprise models

The aim of this second part is to identify and characterize the various types/models of social enterprises: fields of activity, social mission, target groups, operational model, stakeholders, legal frameworks, and so on.

3. Institutionalization processes of social
enterprise models

The aim of this third part is to analyze the extent to which social enterprise models identified here above are currently institutionalized and to examine the processes through which these institutional frameworks have emerged.

This panel proposal is made of papers focusing on the analysis of social enterprises in three Central and Eastern European countries: Hungary, Poland and Macedonia. Some common features in all three contexts are striking: typical challenges of the transition from communist regimes, work integration as a key mission of many social enterprises and some distrust toward traditional cooperatives as potential actors in the SE field. Of course Poland and Hungary display more similarities, among which a strong influence of EU programs that contribute to shaping specific social enterprise models. On the other hand, Poland appears ahead of the group through its various public policies and legal acts supporting the development of social enterprises.

Paper 1: Looking for Social Enterprise Models in Poland: Institutional and Historical Contexts
Paper 2: Social Enterprises in Hungary: Emerging Models and Challenges
Paper 3: The Mediating Role of the Social Enterprise between the Socio-Economic and Legal Frameworks and its Impact on the Marginalized Groups: The case of Macedonia

Sub Unit

• Social Innovation and Social Enterprise

Chair

• Jacques Defourny, University of Liege

Individual Presentations

• Looking for Social Enterprise Models in Poland: Institutional and Historical Contexts - Anna Ciepielewska-Kowalik, Institute of Political Studies Polish Academy of Sciences; Bartosz Pieliński, Warsaw University; Marzena Starnawska, Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland; Aleksandra Maria Szymanska, Vrije Universiteit Brussel

• Social Enterprises in Hungary: Emerging Models and Challenges - Julianna Kiss, Eötvös Loránd Science University (ELTE), Budapest Faculty Of Social Sciences; Éva G. Fekete, Institute of World and Regional Economics, Faculty of Economics, University of Miskolc; László Hubai, Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Social Sciences, Helping Hands for Active Years Nonprofit Public; Melinda Mihály, Social Impact gGmbH / Leipzig University

Session Organizer

• Jacques Defourny, University of Liege