TY - JOUR
T1 - Situating community enterprise
T2 - A theoretical exploration
AU - Somerville, Peter
AU - McElwee, Gerard
PY - 2011/6/1
Y1 - 2011/6/1
N2 - This paper argues that enterprises can be understood primarily in terms of their social bases and that the social base of community enterprise lies in community of some kind. It reviews current conceptualizations in this area such as 'community-based enterprise' (CBE) and 'social enterprise', and argues that CBE is only one form of community enterprise. Community entrepreneurs are understood in terms of their position on a continuum of community participation, as economic/social/political activists, and community enterprise is explained largely in terms of the balance of social capital functions served by its overall activity. The relationship between membership of a community enterprise and membership of a community is explored, and represented in terms of two criteria: the pool from which enterprise members are drawn and the rule by which such members are selected from the pool. This paper illustrates its arguments in relation to two English community enterprises, Coin Street Community Builders based in London and The Eldonians based in Liverpool.
AB - This paper argues that enterprises can be understood primarily in terms of their social bases and that the social base of community enterprise lies in community of some kind. It reviews current conceptualizations in this area such as 'community-based enterprise' (CBE) and 'social enterprise', and argues that CBE is only one form of community enterprise. Community entrepreneurs are understood in terms of their position on a continuum of community participation, as economic/social/political activists, and community enterprise is explained largely in terms of the balance of social capital functions served by its overall activity. The relationship between membership of a community enterprise and membership of a community is explored, and represented in terms of two criteria: the pool from which enterprise members are drawn and the rule by which such members are selected from the pool. This paper illustrates its arguments in relation to two English community enterprises, Coin Street Community Builders based in London and The Eldonians based in Liverpool.
KW - Community-based enterprise
KW - Social capital
KW - Social entrepreneurship
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79960316128&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/08985626.2011.580161
DO - 10.1080/08985626.2011.580161
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:79960316128
VL - 23
SP - 317
EP - 330
JO - Entrepreneurship and Regional Development
JF - Entrepreneurship and Regional Development
SN - 0898-5626
IS - 5-6
ER -