From the economic to the social contribution of the Social Economy. Monetary assessment of the social value created for the Spanish economy

Abstract

The role of the Social Economy (SE) in society is increasingly acknowledged by social agents and institutions, especially in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Commitment to SE requires the support of quantitative measurement of its contribution to society from an aggregate perspective. The difficulty in specifying it in quantitative terms is related to the assessment of the contribution of SE's differentiating and intrinsic values. These values contribute to the fight against some structural problems that persist in modern society in terms of unemployment, inequality, territorial imbalance, environmental problems and social exclusion that surpass the economic sphere and involve the contribution to social goals, social utility and social and territorial cohesion. Our objective is an assessment in quantitative terms, including an estimation, in monetary terms, of the specific contribution of Social Market Economy (SMkE) firms to society linked to their distinctive principles, and thus their behaviour, in comparison to traditional profit-oriented firms, used as a control group. We use impact analysis techniques, with a simulation exercise, by which SMkE entities "lose" their identity and behave like profit-oriented firms. The results obtained for Spain confirm the existence of differential behaviour that generates social value in several ways. In monetary terms, in 2017, SMkEs contributed 6,229 million Euros in benefits to Spanish society that would have been lost if SMkE entities had behaved like profit-oriented firms.

Futuras intenciones de emprender en estudiantes de estudios secundarios chilenos y vascos

“…Del análisis de las distintas definiciones de emprendedor social se desprende que se trata de una persona que decide iniciar una empresa con una misión social explícita en mente (Dees, 1998). A diferencia del emprendedor convencional, el objetivo central de la actividad del emprendedor social es la creación de valor social en lugar de riqueza personal, abordando problemas sociales en vez de necesidades puramente individuales (Castro et al, 2020;Abu-Saifan, 2012). Asimismo, para la creación de este valor social los emprendedores sociales desarrollan actividades empresariales de maneras innovadoras, casi siempre cubriendo nichos desatendidos por gobiernos e instituciones públicas (García & Palma, 2019;Zhara et al, 2009).…”

“…El creciente interés por esta variante del emprendimiento se explica en gran medida por las múltiples crisis que han aquejado a diversos territorios alrededor del mundo, lo que ha llevado a depositar grandes esperanzas en este tipo de iniciativas para la solución de los acuciantes problemas sociales que estas han traído consigo (Castro et al, 2020;Costas, 2020). Es así como, desde diferentes sectores, las empresas con fines sociales -que aquí identificamos con las entidades pertenecientes a la Economía Social-han sido consideradas como una respuesta innovadora, dinámica, inclusiva y autosostenible a los principales desafíos sociales, económicos y medioambientales que enfrentan las sociedades actuales, muchos de los cuales han sido desatendidos -ya sea por incapacidad y/o desinterés-tanto por los gobiernos y las instituciones públicas como por el sector privado (Defourny et al, 2014;Duque et al, 2021).…”

How can small and medium-sized organizations with hybrid objectives preserve their mission? A social capital approach

“…Social enterprises pursue the dual mission of achieving both financial sustainability and social purpose (Doherty, Haugh and Lyon, 2014). Social enterprise's dual mission contributes to the fight against some structural problems that persist in modern society in terms of inequality, environmental problems and social exclusion that surpass the economic sphere and involve the contribution to social goals, social utility and social and territorial cohesion (Castro, Santero, Martínez, and De Diego, 2020). In this vein social economy is a scientific field that is very relevant and has a great future for society (Monzón & Chaves, 2020).…”