SOCIAL ENTERPRISES‘ POSITION IN REGIONAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• Main Author: H. Blagoycheva
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Trakia University 2019-10-01
• Series: Trakia Journal of Sciences
• Subjects: social entrepreneurship; social capital; sustainability of the regions; sustainable social enterprise
• Online Access: http://tru.uni-sz.bg/tsj/Volume%2017,%202019,%20Supplement%201,%20Series%20Social%20Sciences/3/za%20pe4at/79.pdf

The purpose of this article is to investigate the possibilities of integrating the activity of social enterprises into the regional sustainable development goals. Traditionally, from an economic point of view, the social enterprises are not a dominant form of business management that contributes to the regional development. But in the article, they are seen as major players within the social economy that can facilitate a sustainable local and regional development. The benefits of the social enterprises are that they manage to combine economic, environmental and social goals in "one basket", thus helping to meet diverse local and regional needs. Based on studied academic discussions and the European Union's experience in building different approaches to developing social entrepreneurship, attempts are being made to address the challenges facing social enterprises at the regional level. Various opportunities are also considered to overcome these challenges.