Evaluating The Legal Environment For Social Entrepreneurship In America And Europe

Social entrepreneurship is a movement that began in North America during the eighties of the past century, while in Europe the origin is parallel to the birth of the so-called social economy. The social entrepreneur is a type of entrepreneur who identifies a business opportunity that is based on solving a social problem through an innovative and creative solution, based on a good idea and developing a business project. It is not charity or philanthropy, and is not necessarily non-profit activities, but may be any kind of business model motivated by the need to help others and carry out social change. That is, the key to social entrepreneurs focus, as noted, in the creation of sustainable social value. The development of social entrepreneurship requires the creation of a favorable legal framework for promoting this special economic activity. In response to the needs of social entrepreneurs, some countries have developed legal structures able to combine for profit oriented business with the pursuit of a social objective. This paper analyzes the current legal context governing the performance of social enterprise in different countries in America and Europe, describing the main legal forms that meet the needs of the new social entrepreneurs.