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The aim of this paper is to investigate whether social innovation has taken root in the last two decades in the social economy sector of the Principality of Asturias (Spain) as a key enterprise development factor in the current post-crisis environment derived from successive financial, health and geopolitical crises. For this, it is conceptually defined, firstly, what is understood by social innovation and its basic dimensions, reflecting on the extent to which the social economy sector can be considered as socially innovative. After that, the methodology and the main results of a study carried out through a review of specialized literature and a qualitative analysis through in-depth interviews with a sample of 21 heads of social enterprise, institutions or corporate entities linked to the sector in Asturias are presented. These results show how, indeed, the principles of social innovation are beginning to be adopted by the sector, albeit in an incipient way as a consequence of different weaknesses associated with its degree of entrepreneurship, organizational structure and development strategy. The paper ends by suggesting a series of recommendations that could contribute to the promotion of the sector as a whole and of the enterprises that make it up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of the internationalization of social economy companies generates balanced profit and loss accounts (triple bottom line) and spreads still further a way of doing business which focuses on a socially sustainable production economy, at a great distance from the speculative economy. Previous evidence of the differential and strategic fact of social economy companies and their need to internationalize in order to guarantee their sustainability triggered this investigation. Its aim was to generate knowledge about the international orientation of cooperative companies and worker-owned companies in Andalusia and to link this to their economic results and the outcome of their innovations. Confirming the Uppsala Model through the international orientation status of social economy companies in Andalusia, this paper shows how a series of specific factors, in addition to the relationship with increasing commercial innovation, have an impact on this orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to study corporate volunteering through both theoretical and practical analysis of the situation in Spain. It outlines the conceptual framework and classification employed, the positive effects and synergies that flow from corporate volunteering and models and strategies for its development, then presents the main data on the extent and the reality of corporate volunteering in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper attempts to identify the roles played by major Spanish NGOs (44 of the 100 largest in terms of their budget) in the process of collaboration between them. The results seem to show three groups of organizations with homogeneous behaviour. The first, those with very large budgets, engage in very active collaboration with other less related sectors. The second group is also made up of large-scale organizations, which focus on development activities and collaborate with other organizations in their sector. Finally, the third group is more heterogeneous, and the organizations cooperate less, for different reasons: either they are very wary of engaging with other organizations, or they prefer to engage in smaller-scale collaborations with other organizations with which they share a mission (values, ideology, beliefs, etc..), or they are isolated from the rest because they are involved in some legal process or judicial intervention. The method applied is Blockmodel Analysis, in the context of Network Theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of considering a cooperative's transactions with its members in pursuance of its objects (its 'cooperativised activity') to be related party transactions and applying the fair value criterion to them has given rise to some debate in Spain. To move the debate forward, this article first studies the related party rules in the IFRS, the US GAAP and the Spanish PGC-2007 accounting standards then examines the economic background to cooperativised transactions, concluding that the fair value criterion is not appropriate in these cases. It continues with an empirical study of information on related party transactions divulged by cooperatives and the valuation criterion employed in transactions with their members by cooperatives that report in accordance with IFRS, and concludes by comparing the results of the empirical study with the previous analytical study. The main contributions of this paper are that to the best of our knowledge this is the first study of this kind on related parties; the comparison between its conclusions and the recent Normas sobre los Aspectos Contables de las Sociedades Cooperativas or Rules on Accounting Aspects of Cooperative Societies (Order EHA/3360/2010); and the suggestions to the accounting regulators for improving financial information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spanish social economy enterprises (SEE), like capital-based ones, have been facing a general economic crisis since 2008. SEE in the Murcia region are no exception. They are mainly small and mediumsized companies and because of their lack of size and structure they face considerable competitive difficulties in fighting this situation. This paper is based on a survey of 102 social economy enterprises in the Murcia Region, essentially labour companies and cooperatives in the service and industrial sectors, which was conducted in early 2010. To examine the situation in which companies from these sectors - mostly micro-enterprises - find themselves, information was collected on their main ratios in 2009, their expectations and their assessment of the competitive context and the main difficulties they face in the current situation of economic and social crisis. The extensive questionnaire made it possible to classify these enterprises into four types, based on the evolution of their main economic ratios (jobs, sales, investment and profits), and in a second stage, to consider the relation with whether or not the companies had adopted active innovation strategies and strategic planning. This made it possible to define the companies that had been able to improve or at least maintain the levels of their principal ratios even in times of crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this paper is to analyse the presence of women in different spheres of the agri-cultural cooperative enterprises in the province of Teruel, where the preponderance of the agricultural sector is paramount. This research compares, firstly, the extent to which the participation of women as against men differs both in employment and in the governing and representative bodies of cooperatives in the rural agricultural environment in Teruel. Subsequently the presence of women in agricultural cooperatives is compared with other sectors and the existence of statistically significant differences is confirmed for some of the variables analysed. This study contributes to the literature on gender and cooperatives in the agricultural sector, an aspect which has hardly been studied in previous works and which enhances the knowledge on the value provided by the presence of women in agricultural sector cooperatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this paper is to build the satellite accounts of the Social Economy enterprises in Asturias for 2005, in order to ascertain the chief macroeconomic dimensions so that the importance, strengths and weaknesses of this sector may be explored. These accounts are drawn up according to type of activity and enterprise. A prior descriptive analysis of the Social Economy of Asturias has been made, both at the level of sector enterprises and the employment it generates; likewise, a geographical study of where these third sector enterprises are located and their characteristics has also been undertaken. To enrich the data, a comparative study of the importance of the Social Economy in relation to the "rest" of the economy of Asturias and with the Social Economy nationally was also made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to official figures, cooperatives accounted for around 60% of the total jobs in the social economy in 2008. The importance of their role in the economy together with their special characteristics and social role has traditionally enabled them to enjoy special fiscal benefits. The aim of this paper is to quantify the average tax burden supported by Spanish cooperative surpluses during the six years from 2003 to 2008, by analysing whether their geographical location or the activity they engage in give rise to important differences between their effective types; all this taking into account the existence of special fiscal regimes due to territoriality and the multiplicity of regulations relating to cooperatives which the Autonomous Communities generate. Additionally, the study aims to assess the impact of fiscal incentives provided for under cooperative company taxation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analyse the diverse forms workers have to take part in the management and ownership of the company of which they form a part. The analysis focuses on the Republic of Ireland from the late nineteen-eighties, when a policy of social partnership began to be put into practice in that country. The principal conclusions indicate that these participative forms do not go as deep as it might seem at first sight, nor do they always respond to a sincere intention to bring about organizational change on the part of the company management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to determine the overall development of Innovation Capacities in Society (CSI) in Social Production Companies (EPS) within a 21st-century Socialist framework in Venezuela. The methodology consisted on the research of official documentary information at national level as well as specialized social economy topics, innovation and an interview. The most relevant result is that it is not possible to develop CSI in EPS in the short term, nor within the context of 21st-century Socialism nor any other development model adopted in Venezuela due to the non-existent and / or precarious "culture of innovation" and "culture of partnership" in Venezuelan society in general, as these are essential conditions to advancing innovative, partnership processes. The conclusion is the need to carry out educational and cultural values with the aim to promote societal innovation processes in EPS and in the various innovative Venezuelan actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we analyse the impact of the Fifth EU R&D Framework Programme (1998-2002) in the Spanish regions, considering the characteristics of the respective regional systems of innovation. The starting theoretical framework is the interactive pattern of technological change where the interaction among the different phases of innovation processes and between actors involved is emphasized. The important role that firms play in this process is also underlined. This model links with the concept of regional innovation systems. The contextual character of technological innovation is furthermore highlighted as well as its importance for the effectiveness of technology policies that should respond to the necessities defined by the innovation system to which it is directed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses current developments in public intervention in local economies. The changing Fordist/Keynesian paradigm takes aside the dominance and hierarchy of public action and gives way to a new governance model where the public administration is one more agent among several. We take into account the social innovation view in the analysis of the keys for the deployment of socially inclusive governance policies. We focus on the development of social or institutional capital and the innovation of the governance itself as the main axis for the social innovation processes. Consequently, we will consider the case study of general scientific and technological policies and particularly those developed in the Basque Country as one of the most important areas of local economic intervention nowadays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to identify the common operating characteristics of the Technological Centres in the Mondragon group. These Centres are one of the key factors upon which the group's industrial cooperatives have been able to create new, value-added jobs. The methodology used is based on the analysis of two theoretical models for economic development: one is open research for innovation as distinct from closed research, and, the other is the triple helix model for regional development. After analyzing in detail the twelve Technological Centres, four groups with common characteristics emerge and these are described in detail. Finally, the characteristics are reviewed at the Technology Centre Ikerlan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperatives develop their economic activity according to principles which can contribute to the growth of a network of socio-economic (relational capital) and socio-political (social capital) relations which in turn, generate the trust which is required for cooperation between companies as well as between companies and scientific-technological systems. This could facilitate the creation of the (relational) organised proximity required to provide fluent relations to the relations between the different actors within the territorial production and innovation systems. However, the presence of an extensive network of cooperatives could also define specific inertias and blockage factors. This paper develops and puts this evolutionary theoretical framework to the test when dealing how the organisation and innovative dynamic of the agro-food system of the Valencian citriculture are significantly conditioned by the presence of cooperatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a critical evaluation of the economic survival of labour-managed firms (LMF) compared to that of conventional companies, paying particular attention to their different forms of capital ownership. There are many arguments both ways; some argue that LMFs enjoy a higher likelihood of survival, since they offer greater employment stability and their workers enjoy more incentives as they are involved in the decision-making process. The counterarguments claim that LMFs are less efficient, due largely to the free-rider problem, serious agent-principal problems, a higher degree of risk aversion on the part of their worker-owners and degeneration due to rent-seeking behaviour, which reduces their likelihood of survival. The results of this evaluation point to the divergence between most of the predictions of economic theory and the successful development of LMFs in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]