Newcastle University ePrints -eprint.ncl.ac.uk Apostolopoulos N, Newbery R, Gkartzios M. Social enterprise and community resilience: Examining a Greek response to turbulent times. Journal of Rural Studies 2018 AbstractUsing community resilience and institutional entrepreneurship as conceptual lens, the paper explores whether support for social enterprises in non-metropolitan Greece has led to resilient social systems. Whilst drawing on narratives of enabling a bottom-up response to market failure, rather than radical or reformist adaptation, social enterprise may have produced a reluctant and state reliant response which may weaken the resilience of communities to survive continued austerity. The research selected and interviewed 30 social enterprises operating within non-metropolitan Greece during 2016. It contributes to knowledge through a novel framing, which clarifies that social enterprise in Greece remains a top-down governance process which fails to deliver transformative forms of community resilience.

Purpose This paper aims to review the progress of a sample of (n = 307) signatories in the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative which commits higher education institutions (HEIs) to make smart commitments to achieve one or more of the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs). Design/methodology/approach A preliminary survey of n = 307 HEIs via online questionnaire and database search was conducted. Findings Findings reveal a difference between HEI governance, that is “instrumental”, and governance, that is “holistic”, in relation to sustainability. Research limitations/implications Implications identified for achieving SDGs in general and for academic–business partnerships, in particular. Practical implications Practical implications for enterprise (developing a tool to measure sustainability mindset) and for enterprise education (sharing of best practices from other HEIs). Social implications Improved understanding of the sustainability mindset will inform decisions about approaches to governing and operationalising sustainability in organisations. Originality/value The survey is not original but the emphasis on sustainability mindset (compassion, empathy and connectedness to SDGs) is.

Purpose The COVID-19 crisis has brought to the forefront the importance of rural health enterprises (RHEs), the peculiarity, in these terms, of rural areas, and the impact of rurality on health entrepreneurial activities. This paper aims to undertake a literature review regarding RHEs in the EU, identify research gaps and set future research directions. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review was conducted and the key aspects coded across four thematic areas – after examining 68 papers. Findings The findings reveal that more intense research should be conducted across four area which emerged; rural health providers vs urban health providers; RHEs and rural development; RHEs and quality of life; and social RHEs. Research limitations/implications Future research avenues were identified and suggestions for further research on RHEs were provided. Practical implications The paper provides insights into how rural areas can attract health enterprises and how health enterprises can operate in rural areas. Originality/value This research expands on the limited existing knowledge of RHEs and sets the foundations for further research.

This article develops an innovative scheme, beyond the existing decision making system, towards a participative and deliberative approach to environmental policies in the European Union. It adopts a bottom‐up approach whereby environmental priorities reach the European level directly from the local networking process and engagement. Indeed, there is a gap in the literature regarding conceptual approaches based on decision making schemes that can unlock local forces towards environmental change. By using a multi‐criteria method, two scenarios (direct democratic and pre‐defined bottom‐up) of social‐network modeling are created. Both scenarios aim to promote the effective use of social networks through aggregation functions to combine the responses of local stakeholders. This paper contributes to the academic debate of the interaction between public engagement and environmental policies. It does not advocate that the debate in political level can be replaced by math‐based decision making schemes but the use of them can enrich political discussions.

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