[PDF] The Global Social Enterprise Lawmaking Phenomenon eBook

Author : Carol Liao
Publisher :
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 32,75 MB
Release : 2020
Category :
ISBN :

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New laws designed to foster and govern social enterprises are propagating throughout the world. Beyond American initiatives, relatively little has been written to date on the global contagion of lawmaking to address the burgeoning field of social enterprise. Increased corporate lobbying to transplant American “benefit” corporation legislation into other countries, with little sensitivity towards existing legal ecosystems in those nations, has generated an urgency to broaden the literature and unearth the wide range of social enterprise law initiatives occurring across the globe. This article identifies over 40 state initiatives across 30 countries to distinguish this international movement. Critical thematic issues are identified from the available data, in hopes of shifting the focus away from private American interests in non-US countries and adding new knowledge to the development of social enterprise law and policies in the years ahead. This article begins by detailing various ways in which states have defined the purpose of social enterprise and social enterprise-type businesses, including how jurisdictions have experimented between state-run certifications and separate corporate legal structures to meet growing demands from particular sectors and stakeholders. We find that most jurisdictions require social enterprises to have a specific social purpose designed to serve the targeted needs of specific sectors, marginalized groups, and/or vulnerable communities. Next, we examine how new state legislation has sought to ease or restrict capital access for these social enterprises. Finally, we provide a detailed overview of various tax initiatives explored by states to promote and foster social enterprises. We suggest that lawmakers proceed with caution in the development of social enterprise laws, particularly when they are in response to private interest groups, and engage in fulsome discussions on the range of available legal methods to foster social enterprise within their jurisdictions.

Author : Henry Peter
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 949 pages
File Size : 13,46 MB
Release : 2022-12-29
Category : Law
ISBN : 3031142160

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This open-access book brings together international experts who shed new light on the status of social enterprises, benefit corporations and other purpose-driven companies. The respective chapters take a multidisciplinary approach (combining law, philosophy, history, sociology and economics) and provide valuable insights on fostering social entrepreneurship and advancing the common good. In recent years, we have witnessed a significant shift of how business activities are conducted, mainly through the rise of social enterprises. In an effort to target social problems at their roots, social entrepreneurs create organizations that bring transformative social changes by considering, among others, ethical, social, and environmental factors. A variety of social enterprise models are emerging internationally and are proving their vitality and importance. But what does the term “social enterprise” mean? What are its roots? And how does it work in practice within the legal framework of any country? This handbook attempts to answer these questions from a theoretical, historical, and comparative perspective, bringing together 44 contributions written by 71 expert researchers and practitioners in this field. The first part provides an overview of the social enterprise movement, its evolution, and the different forms entities can take to meet global challenges, overcoming the limits of what governments and states can do. The second part focuses on the emergence of benefit corporations and the growing importance of sustainability and societal values, while also analyzing their different legal forms and adaptation to their regulatory environment. In turn, the last part presents the status quo of purpose-driven companies in 36 developed and emerging economies worldwide. This handbook offers food for thought and guidance for everyone interested in this field. It will benefit practitioners and decision-makers involved in social and community organizations, as well as in international development and, more generally speaking, social sciences and economics.

Author : Dana Brakman Reiser
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 217 pages
File Size : 37,71 MB
Release : 2017-09-05
Category : Law
ISBN : 0190249803

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Social enterprises represent a new kind of venture, dedicated to pursuing profits for owners and benefits for society. Social Enterprise Law provides tools that will allow them to raise the capital they need to flourish. Social Enterprise Law weaves innovation in contract and corporate governance into powerful protections against insiders sacrificing goals such as environmental sustainability in the pursuit of short-term profits. Creating a stable balance between financial returns and public benefits will allow social entrepreneurs to team up with impact investors that share their vision of a double bottom line. Brakman Reiser and Dean show how novel legal technologies can allow social enterprises to access capital markets, including unconventional sources such as crowdfunding. With its straightforward insights into complex areas of the law, the book shows how a social mission can even be shielded from the turbulence of an acquisition or bankruptcy. It also shows why, as the metrics available to measure the impact of social missions on individuals and communities become more sophisticated, such legal innovations will continue to become more robust. By providing a comprehensive survey of the U.S. laws and a bold vision for how legal institutions across the globe could be reformed, this book offers new insights and approaches to help social enterprises raise the capital they need to flourish. It offers a rich guide for students, entrepreneurs, investors, and practitioners.

Author : Carol Liao
Publisher :
Page : pages
File Size : 35,62 MB
Release : 2020
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ISBN :

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The international emergence of alternative corporate forms and certifications has given credence to a new strain of law developing within the corporate sustainability movement, known as social enterprise law. What are some of the trade-offs that accompany such laws? Upon canvassing the development of social enterprise lawmaking initiatives worldwide, two preliminary observations arise. First, the majority of social enterprise laws, particularly in Europe and Asia, are designed to address the targeted needs of special and/or marginalized populations. The minuscule number of these businesses formed to date suggests that concerns over the shrinking of public goods and services remain largely theoretical. Second, U.S. benefit corporation laws may only strengthen erroneous beliefs on existing corporate law and governance - thus creating impediments to broad-scale sustainability change. The aggressive pursuit of a global market by private U.S. entrepreneurs behind the B Corporation certification and benefit corporation laws contrasts starkly with state-led initiatives. Benefit entity statutes risk hollowing out public infrastructure in favour of the private Americanization of good governance standards in non U.S. countries.

Author : Benjamin Means
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 831 pages
File Size : 37,46 MB
Release : 2019-01-03
Category : Law
ISBN : 1316946932

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Growing numbers of employees, consumers, and investors want companies to be truly good; these stakeholders will accept lower economic returns in order to support companies that prioritize sustainability, fair wages, and fair trade. Unlike charities or non-profit organizations, such companies - or social enterprises - are not only permitted but also expected to produce an economic return for investors. Yet, unlike traditional business ventures, social enterprises have no obligation to maximize profits, even on a long-term basis. In this comprehensive volume, Benjamin Means and Joseph W. Yockey bring together leading legal scholars and practitioners to offer an authoritative guide to social enterprise law and policy. The Cambridge Handbook of Social Enterprise Law takes stock of the field and charts a course for its future development. It should be read by entrepreneurs, investors, practitioners, academics, students and anyone else interested in how companies are evolving to address new demands for capitalism with a conscience.

Author : David O. Renz
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 820 pages
File Size : 35,12 MB
Release : 2024-03-14
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 1394198876

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An expansive discussion of the most current scholarship, theory, and best-practices in the field of nonprofit leadership and management In the newly revised fifth edition of The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, veteran nonprofit leader and researcher Dr. David Renz, along with co-authors Fredrik Andresson and William Brown, deliver a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the research, theory, and practices influencing contemporary nonprofit organizations. The book contains a particular focus on the unique challenges confronting all modern nonprofit leaders, including the concept of accountability and the pressure to demonstrate concrete outcomes and results during a time of extreme economic challenge. The editor includes original contributions from 28 of the sector’s leading voices, on everything from the institutional context in which nonprofits operate to the effective recruitment, selection, retention, and management of staff and volunteers. You’ll also discover: Substantial updates and revisions to rapidly evolving subjects, including diversity, equity, and inclusion at nonprofits, social entrepreneurship, and financial leadership Expansive exploration of the transformed political-legal climate and context in which nonprofits operate In-depth consideration of the management of relationships with internal and external stakeholders and constituents Perfect for leaders, educators, researchers, managers, and students of contemporary nonprofit leadership and management, The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management is an invaluable, one-stop resource for sitting board members and engaged volunteers at forward-looking nonprofit organizations.

Author : Beate Sjåfjell
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 257 pages
File Size : 28,23 MB
Release : 2022-10-26
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 3031069242

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This volume brings together contributions from women business scholars from a range of disciplines and countries. The starting point was a collaborative research meeting organised by Daughters of Themis: International Network of Female Business Scholars in June 2017. The volume highlights the difficulties and the possibilities that lie in working together across disciplines with the aim of achieving corporate sustainability. The volume is written from the perspective of women business scholars, thereby offering outside viewpoints in fields that still are very much dominated by men, and fresh insights and innovate ideas. In three main parts, the authors address the need for interdisciplinarity in research to identify ways to ensure the contribution of business to sustainability, showcasing a number of theoretical and applied approaches for researching sustainable business. The volume ‘s introductory chapter situates the volume in discourses of sustainability and corporate sustainability. It presents the Daughters of Themis Network and provides a short description of the successive eleven chapters. In Part I, Reflections, contributors discuss the significance of interdisciplinary research, how to work across disciplines, as well as the challenges of doing so. In Part II, Theory, contributors discuss theoretical and methodological aspects of interdisciplinary research. Part III presents the Practice of interdisciplinary research. In the introductory chapter, the editors reflect on the insights that can be drawn out of the contributions, and discuss the potential for future developments of interdisciplinary research for sustainability, as well as how interdisciplinary research can be communicated. The book is intended for business scholars, and will particularly appeal to those working in law, accountancy and finance, management, and organization studies.

Author : Levinus Timmerman
Publisher :
Page : 9 pages
File Size : 24,69 MB
Release : 2014
Category :
ISBN :

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This paper explains the increasing popularity of social entrepreneurship and analyzes its company law consequences. Faced with tight budgets, governments are looking to the private sector to develop businesses that serve the interests of the public. Social entrepreneurship is gaining momentum as it enables people to make a living while pursuing an objective that adds meaning to their lives. Social enterprises are confronting two key challenges. First is the need for funding. The emergence of a social investment sector requires a long-term commitment from government agencies. Second, social enterprises must balance the interests of investors with the social mission.Legislators in many countries are creating specific legal entities to cater to the need for legal entities in which the dual purpose of social enterprises is regulated. A worldwide trend is for company law to provide a means of addressing problems relating to the dual purpose by defining the rights and obligations of directors and shareholders. Furthermore, a sufficiently flexible 'new company-law product' offering a pre-negotiated set of rules tailored for social enterprises can reduce incorporation costs for entrepreneurs structuring their businesses. A special legal entity for social enterprises also enables entrepreneurs to carry out their mission by giving them their own legal entity and allowing them to use their legal entity as a marketing tool and a competitive advantage. Accordingly, new legal entities improve the options open to entrepreneurs structuring their social businesses.

Author : Antonio Fici
Publisher :
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 23,87 MB
Release : 2017
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ISBN :

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Social enterprise lawmaking is a growth industry. In the United States alone, over the last few years, there has been a proliferation of state laws establishing specific legal forms for social enterprises. The situation is not different in Europe, where the process began much earlier than in the United States and today at least fifteen European Union member states have specific laws for social enterprise. This article will describe the current state of the legislation on social enterprise in Europe, inquiring into its fundamental role in the development of the social economy and its particular logics as distinct from those of the for-profit capitalistic economy. It will explore the models of social enterprise regulation that seem more consistent with the economic growth inspired by the paradigms of the social economy. It will finally explain why, in regulating and shaping social enterprise, the model of the social enterprise in the cooperative form is to be preferred to that of the social enterprise in the company form.

Author : Dionysia-Theodora Avgerinopoulou
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 419 pages
File Size : 45,51 MB
Release : 2019-08-31
Category : Law
ISBN : 3030214176

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The Book takes the approach of a critique of the prevailing international environmental law-making processes and their systemic shortcomings. It aims to partly redesign the current international environmental law-making system in order to promote further legislation and more effectively protect the natural environment and public health. Through case studies and doctrinal analyses, an array of initial questions guides the reader through a variety of factors influencing the development of International Environmental Law. After a historical analysis, commencing from the Platonic philosophy up to present, the Book holds that some of the most decisive factors that could create an optimized law-making framework include, among others: progressive voting processes, science-based secondary international environmental legislation, new procedural rules, that enhance the participation in the law-making process by both experts and the public and also review the implementation, compliance and validity of the science-base of the laws. The international community should develop new law-making procedures that include expert opinion. Current scientific uncertainties can be resolved either by policy choices or by referring to the so-called „sound science.“ In formulating a new framework for environmental lawmaking processes, it is essential to re-shape the rules of procedure, so that experts have greater participation in those, in order to improve the quality of International Environmental Law faster than the traditional processes that mainly embrace political priorities generated by the States. Science serves as one of the main tools that will create the next generation of International Environmental Law and help the world transition to a smart, inclusive, sustainable future.