Social Innovations In Companies And In Social Economy Enterprises

Abstract

<jats:p>This paper compares the way of perceiving and implementing social innovations in companies and social enterprises in Poland with those in Europe. Special attention is paid to internal social innovations, so-called workplace innovations (WPI), and the reasons and outcomes of their introduction in companies, both in Poland and in other European countries. Moreover, the paper investigates the relationship between the need for internal social innovations and positive employment relations in analyzed entities. The research findings prove that introducing innovations, including social innovations, is mainly driven by the need to improve a company’s performance. Among social innovations which both companies and social enterprises value is investment into improving employees’ work conditions. Moreover, for more than half of Polish companies and social enterprises the need for innovations is related to creating development opportunities, higher work flexibility, better social and life conditions of employees, as well as supporting employee’s reconciliation between work and family life. These reasons for introducing social innovations were also noted by both managers and employees in other European companies. The paper also shows the links between issues of internal social innovations and positive employment relationships. The presented research findings prove that positive relationships among employees are significantly and positively correlated with a broad approach to the need for introducing social innovations. Moreover, the paper points out that positive employment relations are perceived as an important outcome of workplace innovation practices in European companies.</jats:p>

Social Enterprise as a Catalyst for Sustainable Local and Regional Development

“…The social enterprise differs from other organizations of the public sector because it focuses on niche sectors existing in the ineffective parts of the market sector or those undersupplied by the government [13]. The innovative thoughts of a social entrepreneur should aim to discover the item in the niche sector between the market and the government, to supply goods and services through market mechanisms, and to reinvest in society [45][46][47].…”

“…Social capital promotes trust in organizations or communities, and is the foundation of the links between morality and internal norms [68]. The usefulness of social capital in social enterprise is verified by the relationship between employees for inducing the dual purpose [47], survival of social enterprise and form of employment [71], and making the intrinsic forces and searching the partner for social purposes [72].…”

A decision model approach for determining social innovation potential of technological projects

“…Furthermore, qualitative analyses were used by many scholars (Ballard et al, 2017; Caroli, Fracassi, Maiolini, & Pulino, 2018; Herrera, 2016; Martins, Braga, Braga, & Ferreira, 2020; Shier & Handy, 2016). However, the social innovation studies using quantitative methods are not sufficient in the related literature except for statistical analysis (Furmańska‐Maruszak & Sudolska, 2016; Phillips, Alexander, & Lee, 2019; Repo & Matschoss, 2020; Schmidthuber, Piller, Bogers, & Dennis, 2019; Segarra‐Oña, Peiró‐Signes, Albors‐Garrigós, & De Miguel‐Molina, 2017).…”

Social Business Model and its Efficacy: A Case Study on Agroforestry in the Indian Context

“…The need for innovation refers not only to companies but also to organisations, which fulfils social objectives, such as social enterprises. Both kinds of companies face the need to compete with their market rivals (Furmańska-Maruszak & Sudolska, 2016).…”