Social Enterprise in Poland: Institutional and Historical Context

Objective : The paper aims to analyse theoretically and empirically the development of social entrepreneurship in Poland and Lithuania, emphasizing the development of appropriate skills and abilities gained at university as entrepreneurial opportunity. ResearchÂ DesignÂ &Â Methods : The research undertaken for the purposes of the paper is based on a literature review and empirical research partly devoted to a situational analysis of social entrepreneurship in Poland, as well as a pilot survey of target groups pertaining to the entrepreneurial skills and abilities as entrepreneurial opportunity of Lithuanian and Polish students as potential social entrepreneurs. Findings: The main research findings imply that despite the existence of entrepreneurial opportunity as education at university, social entrepreneurship is increasingly important in Poland. Overall support is needed for the creation of social enterprises and attracting young people to them. Empirical research based on Lithuanian and Polish studentsâ€™ perception of acquiring entrepreneurial skills and abilities at university can be entrepreneurial opportunity for social entrepreneurship. ImplicationsÂ &Â Recommendations: Implementing further research in the field, as empirical this research was just a pilot one. Research can be developed by taking into account more respondents in both countries. ContributionÂ &Â ValueÂ Added: The study provides empirical evidence entrepreneurial skills and abilities gained/developed at university are a possible entrepreneurial opportunity for exploiting and creating social enterprises. Â

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Involving Young People in Polish and Lithuanian Social Enterprises by Fostering Entrepreneurial Skills and Abil-ities as Entrepreneurial Opportunity at University


Purpose
The purpose of the research is to identify the degree of intensity of barriers to the activities of social enterprises (SEs) and to examine the significance of such barriers regarding the financial situation of SE’s in emerging economies.


Design/methodology/approach
The data relates to 200 SEs selected from a national survey of 1,300 Polish non-governmental organizations (NGOs). An analysis of barriers to SEs according to the frequency of their occurrence was conducted. An indicator of the intensity of barriers to the activities of social enterprises and an indicator on these enterprises’ overall financial condition were determined. Spearman rank correlation analysis was used to assess the relationship between the indices.


Findings
The results of the study indicate that in addition to excessive bureaucracy in public administration and the complex formalities related to the use of private and public funds, SEs have difficulties in maintaining good staff and volunteers, whereas people in key positions reference burnout, not only among their own employees but also in themselves. These have a significant impact on the financial situation of SEs.


Originality/value
This study contributes to the field of social entrepreneurship in two ways. One is at the macro level in that it provides suggestions for public authorities in emerging economies interested in maintaining SEs in good financial condition so that they can effectively fulfil their social functions. The second contribution – the micro approach – is recognizing the extent of the impact of barriers on the financial condition of SEs and also determining the intensity of such barriers with regard to the mobilization of resources by managers, especially in the field of human resources.


How do barriers to the activities of social enterprises affect their financial situation? Evidence based on data from Poland and resource mobilization theory

A “social enterprise” is a relatively new term in Poland. It was first mentioned mainly in academic discussions and government documents after Poland joined the European Union and implemented projects relating to combating social and professional exclusion. Despite the gradual dissemination of the term, the issue of social enterprises does not seem to have been properly recognized in Poland. Social enterprises as institutional providers of public services remain on the margins of discussions on the transformation of the contemporary socio-economic system. Meanwhile, although the socio-economic and developmental potential is lower in Poland than in Western Europe, the impact of social enterprises in the field of the welfare state is becoming increasingly visible. This is due to systemic reforms such as decentralization, democratization and the withdrawal of the state from many social obligations, which has resulted in a profound institutional gap in many social services. What is more, it can be said that the role of social enterprises as suppliers of public services will grow in coming years because of the strong budgetary constraints at the central and local levels and the increasing pressure of service users, who try to influence social services during the phases of their development and delivery. Moreover, a system of institutional recognition of social enterprises is slowly being shaped in Poland, although it is still much less advanced compared to Western European countries. Given the above characteristics, the article attempts to describe the current level of institutional recognition of social enterprises in Poland. It addresses the key complexities and the terminological heritage of “a social enterprise” by referring to the major theoretical approaches, i.e., the “earned-income’ school of thought”, the “innovation' school of thought” and the definition of a “social enterprise” developed by the international research network EMES. The institutionalization of social enterprises in Poland after 1989 is discussed in the context of historical, economic and social changes. The article refers to the typology of models of social enterprises in Poland developed by Ciepielewska-Kowalik et al. as part of the ICSEM Project. The article provides an overview of the most current Polish literature and public statistical data on social enterprises.

Public policy on social enterprises in Poland: the impact of tradition and transition

Organizacje non-profit w polityce opieki i edukacji przedszkolnej w Polsce po 1989 r.

This paper presents the definitional discourse on the Polish social economy organizations and social enterprises in the milieu of academic experts and practitioners, analyzes their competitive advantages, identifies major challenges and barriers and provides some key recommendations on how social economy organizations and social enterprises can be supported in Poland. With an eye on early childhood education & care services we outline the performance and impact of social enterprises in this policy area and implications for academic understanding of social enterprise. The analysis is based on quantitative and qualitative studies conducted in the years 2011-2013. It describes the scale, specificity and socio-economic potential of social enterprises in childcare. The national and local policy towards social enterprises, as well as their role in fostering private regulation schemes in childcare policy are also examined in this paper. Social economy and social enterprise are new terms in Poland. They have emerged after the 1989 from the concepts of third sector and co-operatives. In Poland the concept of social enterprise has received initial recognition among government officials, professionals, academics and the third sector due to EU programs on social inclusion and economic reintegration such as EQUAL and Human Capital. Social enterprises are understood as a subtype of the third sector and as a new development within this sector covering existing organizations as well as its new types (Les, Kolin 2009). Most recent Polish studies argue, however, that there is not yet a common definition of social enterprise. Polish social enterprises consist of a plurality of organizational forms that have developed between the market and the state, but also with a close relation with the public sector. In Poland the majority of social enterprises, which consist a minority of the social economy, consist of work integration, service oriented and local development oriented organizations. This development within third sector organizations towards more economic activities contributed to their more entrepreneurial position, particularly the production of social services for groups with special needs (children, disabled, on-parent families, older persons), production of local services (agrotourism, social tourism, recreational parks) as well as the promotion of alternative modes of employment generation primarily for those workers who could not or did not want to find a job at the traditional labour market. Social enterprises in Poland address new (central and local) social policy challenges induced by public budgets constrains, harsh social welfare reforms and growing diversification of social needs.

Social economy and social enterprises in Poland: trends, challenges and obstacles

Suggested Citation: Ciepielewska-Kowalik, Anna; Les, Ewa (2014) : Social enterprises in Poland: Competitive advantages, challenges, obstacles and innovative ways forward. A case of early childhood education and care services, 54th Congress of the European Regional Science Association: "Regional development & globalisation: Best practices", 26-29 August 2014, St. Petersburg, Russia, European Regional Science Association (ERSA), Louvain-la-Neuve

https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/124543/1/ERSA2014_01740.pdf

Social enterprises in Poland: Competitive advantages, challenges, obstacles and innovative ways forward. A case of early childhood education and care services

Anna Ciepielewska-Kowalik

Papers

Social economy and social enterprises in Poland: trends, challenges and obstacles

Social enterprises in Poland: Competitive advantages, challenges, obstacles and innovative ways forward. A case of early childhood education and care services

Social economy and social enterprises in Poland: trends, challenges and obstacles