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Recognition and legal Forms of Social Enterprises in Europe: A Critical Analysis from a Comparative Law Perspective

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  • Antonio Fici

Abstract

Social enterprise lawmaking is a growth industry. In the United States alone, over the last few years, there has been a proliferation of state laws establishing specific legal forms for social enterprises. The situation is not different in Europe, where the process began much earlier than in the United States and today at least fifteen European Union member states have specific laws for social enterprise. This article will describe the current state of the legislation on social enterprise in Europe, inquiring into its fundamental role in the development of the social economy and its particular logics as distinct from those of the for-profit capitalistic economy. It will explore the models of social enterprise regulation that seem more consistent with the economic growth inspired by the paradigms of the social economy. It will finally explain why, in regulating and shaping social enterprise, the model of the social enterprise in the cooperative form is to be preferred to that of the social enterprise in the company form.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonio Fici, 2015. "Recognition and legal Forms of Social Enterprises in Europe: A Critical Analysis from a Comparative Law Perspective," Euricse Working Papers 1582, Euricse (European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises).
    • Handle: RePEc:trn:utwpeu:1582
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    File URL: https://www.euricse.eu/publications/wp-8215-recognition-and-legal-forms-of-social-enterprise-in-europe-a-critical-analysis-from-a-comparative-law-perspective/
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Dedeurwaerdere, Tom & De Schutter, Olivier & Hudon, Marek & Mathijs, Erik & Annaert, Bernd & Avermaete, Tessa & Bleeckx, Thomas & de Callataÿ, Charlotte & De Snijder, Pepijn & Fernández-Wulff, Paula &, 2017. "The Governance Features of Social Enterprise and Social Network Activities of Collective Food Buying Groups," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 123-135.
    2. Adam Stefan & Avilés Gregorio & Ferrari Domenico & Amstutz Jeremias & Crivelli Luca & Enrico Cavedon & Gafner Anja & Greppi Spartaco & Schmitz Daniela & Wüthrich Bernadette & Zoebeli Daniel, 2016. "Work Integration Social Enterprises in Switzerland," Nonprofit Policy Forum, De Gruyter, vol. 7(4), pages 509-539, December.
    3. Remigijus Civinskas & Rimantas Stašys & Asta Pancerovienė & Aušra Anužienė, 2023. "Social Cooperative Model Choices in the Socially Unsustainable Environment: Evidence from Lithuania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-18, July.
    4. Tomas Lavišius & Virginijus Bitė & Mads Andenas, 2020. "Social entrepreneurship in the Baltic and Nordic countries. Would the variety of existing legal forms do more for the impact on sustainable development?," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 8(1), pages 276-290, September.
    5. Anna Grignani & Michela Gozzellino & Alessandro Sciullo & Dario Padovan, 2021. "Community Cooperative: A New Legal Form for Enhancing Social Capital for the Development of Renewable Energy Communities in Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-15, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social enterprise; Social economy; Cooperatives; Comparative law; Non-profit corporate governance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K22 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Business and Securities Law
    • L31 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Nonprofit Institutions; NGOs; Social Entrepreneurship

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