Društveno poduzetništvo kao nov način poslovanja područje je spajanja poduzetničkih praksi iz poslovnog svijeta i vrijednosti povezanih s društvenom odgovornosti i načelima održivog razvoja. ...Braniteljske zadruge i zadruge ratnih veterana globalno su prepoznati modeli razvoja društvenog poduzetništva. Usprkos dugoj tradiciji zadrugarstva u Republici Hrvatskoj (RH), ono još uvijek nije široko korišteni poslovni model. Cilj je istraživanja predstavljenoga u ovome radu da se analizom stanja i praksi ukaže na potencijal koji braniteljske udruge i zadruge imaju kao značajan oblik društvenog poduzetništva u hrvatskom kontekstu u perspektivi društvenih poduzeća za radnu integraciju. S obzirom da ova tema u hrvatskoj znanosti do sada nije bila primjereno istraživana, provedeno recentno istraživanje pokazuje kako bi braniteljske socijalno-radne zadruge mogle doprinijeti razvoju društvenog poduzetništva u RH, ostvarenju održivog i društveno odgovornog poslovanja te socijalnoj i radnoj integraciji ranjivih skupina.
Social entrepreneurship in the Republic of Croatia is a relatively new concept. The issue of the development of social entrepreneurship in the Republic of Croatia is closely related to the lack of an appropriate legal framework, and with the still insufficiently clear criteria for recognizing social entrepreneurs. Cooperatives have a strong potential as one of the instruments of economic and local development, especially social cooperatives that help the socially disadvantaged, the infirm and people in difficult life situations. Veterans belong to a vulnerable group in Croatian society, whose integration into society is still difficult for a number of reasons. Some of the factors are the insufficiently clear and harmonized legislative framework, the insufficient social welfare system and the generally unfavourable social environment. Therefore, veterans’ social working cooperatives represent a potential form of association that enables veterans to be more easily included in society, with the development of entrepreneurial activities and at the same time achieving a positive social role. The assessment of the state of cooperatives in the Republic of Croatia showed that the veterans’ population is insufficiently informed about the possibilities of acting within the framework of social entrepreneurship. This paper specifically considers the potential of veterans’ social working cooperatives as work integration social enterprises. Given that long-term unemployed Croatian veterans of the Homeland War and members of their families are often in the group of hard-to-employ persons, there is a need to take certain measures aimed at strengthening their competitiveness in the labour market.
In the article, we analyse the impact of changing policy environments on the development of the third sector in Europe. Based on the results of systematic comparative research in eight European ...countries (Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK), we identify commonalities and differences. In a three-step analysis, we examine policy changes, effects on the third sector and responses by third sector organizations (TSOs) in the social domain. Overall, the third sector in Europe has proven resilient. However, not only have public and private funding decreased, the process for acquiring such funding has become more demanding for TSOs, as have requirements to be accountable. There are signs of a proliferation of more market-based, hybrid organizations. Despite this general trend towards marketization, the impact of policy changes varies across Europe with TSOs being better equipped to adapt and survive in countries where collaborative ties between the state and the third sector have traditionally been strong.
Youth employment in Europe as well as in Croatia presents to be a substantial issue. Service learning fosters a strong relationship with community engagement offering hands-on experience. In this ...way, it may potentially prepare graduates from higher education institutions for an easier transition into the labor market. As to be able to address the question of whether service learning influences youth employment in Croatia, a study was conducted on 291 participants. The purpose of the research was to strengthen the links between service learning and youth employment in (social) enterprises. Methods applied two separate surveys, covering the topic of service learning and social entrepreneurship and youth, and the research was conducted from February to August 2021. The main findings point to the partial influence of service learning on youth employment in Croatia. Although it provides community engagement by introducing some hands-on experience, these skills and knowledge are still insufficient for the graduates’ competitiveness on the labor market. In order to increase the impact of service learning on youth employment in Croatia, some service learning-related enhancements are proposed but, more importantly, reforms are needed in the (higher) education system in general as well as in the strategic framework on the social entrepreneurship.
ISTR (International Society for Third Sector Research), petnaesta međunarodna konferencija, naziva Navigating In Turbulent Times: Perspectives and Contributions from the Third Sector održana je ...12.-15. srpnja u Montrealu, Kanada1 . Konferencija je bila slavljeničkog karaktera, slaveći 30 godina ISTR zajednice
Knjiga Social Enterprise in Central and Eastern Europe. Theory, Models and Practice nastala je u okviru International Comparative Social Enterprise Models – ICSEM1 – projekta koji je htio pokazati da ...će socijalno poduzetništvo kao polje imati puno više koristi od povezivanja napora na konceptualizaciji s velikom raznolikošću socijalnih poduzeća nego od dodatnog i ambicioznog pokušaja davanja obuhvatne definicije. Polazeći od hipoteze koja bi se mogla nazvati »nemogućnošću jedinstvene definicije«, ICSEM-ova se istraživačka strategija oslanjala na pristupe odozdo prema gore kako bi zahvatio fenomen socijalnih poduzeća u njihovom lokalnom i nacionalnom kontekstu. Ova je strategija omogućila uzimanje u obzir i davanje legitimiteta lokalno ugrađenim pristupima, istovremeno dopuštajući identifikaciju glavnih modela socijalnih poduzeća kako bi se područje definiralo na zajedničkim osnovama na međunarodnoj razini.
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted higher education worldwide. Higher education institutions needed to adapt very rapidly to the crisis and a new environment, and also needed to revise their role in ...society. Higher education institutions can contribute to social innovation through research, education and helping to address citizens’ issues and communities’ needs, which is why the creation of social labs by higher education institutions has increased in the last decades. Social labs are spaces where higher education institutions experiment and test new ideas. However, social labs at higher education institutions are still a relatively new phenomenon and have not yet been examined sufficiently. Moreover, it is not fully known how COVID-19 affected social labs’ activities and impacted their establishment. To reflect on the current reality, this article focuses on two research questions: (1) How were social lab activities and partnerships affected during the pandemic? and (2) What impact has COVID-19 had on social labs? To answer these questions, a quantitative survey was conducted, and the data was analysed by quantitative and qualitative methods. The results showed that the biggest challenge lies in organisational processes and human resources management. Yet, it should be noted that COVID-19 also provided opportunities. They are mainly linked with an impulse to develop innovations and increase digitisation in social labs. The study showed that social labs with flexible organisational processes and human resource management were more successful in their adaptation to crisis conditions caused by COVID-19. In summary, this article provides insight into social labs in higher education institutions by bridging an existing knowledge gap in scientific literature, and expands on it by investigating pandemics as having a crisis impact on social lab development.