Social Sustainability : Exploring the Role of Social Enterprises

• Main Authors: Bota, Erica, Tschendel, Viola, Hernández, Christian Zavala
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Institutionen för strategisk hållbar utveckling 2014
• Subjects: Trust; Social Enterprise; Impartiality; Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development; Sustainable Social System; Social Exclusion; Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified; Övrig annan samhällsvetenskap; Social Sciences Interdisciplinary; Tvärvetenskapliga studier inom samhällsvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-2544

The degradation of the ecological and social systems has largely resulted from human activities that deplete natural resources and undermine human needs in society. Traditional business culture, driven mainly by profit maximization, is a factor that has worsened this sustainability challenge. Social enterprises (SEs) are a form of business that hold the potential to help make the transition towards a sustainable society. The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, it explores SE contributions to creating a sustainable social system. Second, it examines how SEs exhibit the dimensions of trustworthiness, leading to trusting relationships in society. Social sustainability principles (SSPs) define social sustainability and are drawn from the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development. They are used as a foundation for identifying SE contributions. The researchers draw on experiences from social entrepreneurs and experts in the field of social entrepreneurship. SEs contribute at two levels: the individual level and the societal level. They break down barriers to the SSPs and provide opportunities to individuals with respect to the five principles. SEs operate based on a culture of impartiality and create opportunities for meaning for individuals in their target groups. They consistently take leaps of faith, believing in the trustworthiness of those who are otherwise deemed untrustworthy.