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This thesis examines a newly emergent space in the economy: socially invested adult social care (SIASC). Adult social care in the UK is currently under substantial financial duress, with the problems that the sector faces being compounded by the increasing withdrawal or collapse of privately funded provision and cuts to local authority budgets. It is against this backdrop that the social investment sector has started to offer the adult social care sector new sources of finance and provision, simultaneously providing social investors with a new space within which they can generate financial returns and create a social benefit. This research identifies and conceptualises social investment in adult social care as a form of financialisation. It is argued that through social investment in adult social care, the processes of financialisation have entered further the realm of the third sector and communities, and that SIASC is another example of the financialisation of social reproduction (in comparison to, for instance, housing, education and utilities). The thesis investigates and develops our understanding of this emergent form of financialisation, its processes, innovations, complexities and nuances. Drawing on existing literature on financialisation, the marketisation of the third sector, and new forms of (social) investment, (social) business and (social) economic practice, a conceptual framework for understanding financialised social reproduction is generated. Thereafter, the thesis investigates this conceptual framework in the case of the emergence of socially invested adult social care. Empirically, the thesis begins by presenting an institutional map of socially invested adult social care, documenting how this particular space of social reproduction has been constructed and what elements are present. Given this map, a deeper interrogation of socially invested adult social care and its processes of financialisation is conducted through three case studies. Each case describes a model of care provision, and an emergent example of the financialisation of social reproduction. The first example is a model of financialised social reproduction based on a co-operative model; the second is an example of a social impact bond approach and the third model of financialised social reproduction is based on legal duties and increased financial obligations. The findings portray a varied, at times complex and nuanced process of financialisation of adult social care. This process includes, for example, new forms of investment product, the development of a range of new, socially orientated, business models and continued and expanded reliance on volunteer labour. Social investment financialisation is found to have driven new and innovative forms of adult social care provision, expanded the capacity of the care sector in terms of finance and resource and, for example, instigated organisational change throughout the procurement process - whilst transferring welfare responsibilities from the state to communities and individuals through a number of approaches and variegations. The result is the creation of a complex financial and social architecture, capable of acting in support of the care sector, whilst expanding and deepening the scope of financialisation practices into the sphere of social reproduction. Given the limited scale, scope and nature of socially invested adult social care, it is highly unlikely that it can provide a sector wide solution to 'the crisis of adult social care' but, arguably, it can offer a partial 'fix' for the sector or additional support in a time of crisis. Social investment then, is both pushing financialisation toward new areas of the economy, whilst providing new forms of support and new services in the adult social care sector.

Philanthropy has always played a role in the support of the cultural sector across Europe, and in the post-war years this has been alongside earned income and – in particular – public funding. In a changing funding landscape, however, and in particular since the financial crisis in 2008, cultural organisations in Europe have found themselves facing reductions in public funding. In order to mitigate these, the cultural sector has found itself looking for alternative sources of financing and there has been a move once more to looking towards philanthropy as one such alternative. This thesis investigates the extent to which arts philanthropy can be considered a new funding model for the cultural sector. How philanthropy can be understood as a potential funding stream for the cultural sector is affected by different landscapes and the national, cultural, and institutional environment in which it takes place. Its potential is dependent on political, economic, and civic environment, and this varies across nations, economies, and societies. Drawing from work on ‘varieties of capitalism’, this research develops a framework – varieties of arts philanthropy – by which the role and potential of arts philanthropy can be mapped and understood in different national and institutional environments. Taking cultural organisations rather than firms as its central focus, both the opportunities and constraints for philanthropy can be understood when mapped against components of the framework such as ‘Cultures of giving’, ‘Philanthropic policy’, ‘Public-private sector relations’, and ‘State levels’. This research undertakes a comparative study of the arts funding and philanthropic landscapes of three different European political-economic contexts – England, the Netherlands, and Denmark. The process of mapping and semi-structured interviews contributes to a greater understanding of the landscape and dynamics of arts funding and philanthropy in the respective countries, the key institutions, the relations between them, and, ultimately, their particular variety of arts philanthropy. Through this conceptual development it is shown that rather than seeking to replicate other systems, and the easy learning of policy mobilities through the mobilisation and 13 territorialisation of policies and policy knowledge, developments in arts funding models need to be based upon the structural conditions and specificities of the surrounding institutional environment. It is possible to identify the key components in understanding the varieties of arts philanthropy within any institutional, national, or multi-scalar setting. First, this framework could similarly be applied to other environments, for example, non-European examples such as in Japan, India, or Australia, and second, it informs how practical funding strategies around philanthropy can be built recognising the specificities of the national and institutional environment. The common theme that emerges across the three countries is that a more mixed model of funding is necessary in current funding climates, but that philanthropy can only function as part of a mixed funding model. It may be necessary alongside public funding, but it is in no position to replace it. How arts philanthropy might develop – such as from foundations, new forms of company and venturing, individuals or solidarity-based approaches – and through what methods (such as tax incentives, regional models, and religion-based cultures of giving) is framed by the variety of arts philanthropy in place.

The emphasis in cluster theory has been in explaining how and why clustering might contribute to competitive advantage for co-located firms, and hence for the economy. While firms may be encouraged to co-locate to gain from transactional, institutional and knowledge benefits, threats to economic sustainability have been associated with a deterioration of advantages and a failure to adapt, resulting in a decline of competitiveness. This thesis reconsiders industry clusters as organisational populations, suggesting a mechanism through which the population and the resource environment can adapt and survive Cluster sustainability is described as a evolutionary process in which the population and resources of the cluster adapt through the creation of new member firms. Based on an embedded case study of eight firm formation events taking place in the UK motorsport industry, the research examines how an industry cluster regenerates and reproduces itself. The concentration, complexity, and diversity of supply and demand comprising the cluster’s organisational population generate a resource environment which generates creation of new members compatible with the cluster’s knowledge architecture. New member entry depends on the absorptive capacity of the cluster, while contributing to the ability to identify, diffuse and exploit new knowledge. Sustainability of industry clusters is associated with the characteristics that support new member creation.