A community economic analysis of social enterprise : contextual factors in Cambodian village life

This paper draws on action research in Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia with actors in a well-resourced NGO and residents in two villages. It considers how historic threads and specific values impact on the raison d'etre for a 'social enterprise' and perceptions of an 'unmet need'. Drawing on Gibson-Graham's work the paper is appreciative of resistance to homogenizing notions of 'community'. It applies critical resource flow analysis to draw out meaningful claims on resources, the way resources come to be mobilized, and how 'surplus' is generated and distributed not only through social enterprise but also through religious festivities and non-monetary exchanges. The paper also explores patron-client relationships. It agrees with James Scott that patron-client bonds are legitimized by the extent that patrons and clients feel they need each other and also that they strengthen or weaken with the crossing of thresholds. The paper brings a new way of considering these bonds by contrasting the legitimacy seeking behavior of patrons with accounts of legitimacy seeking in social enterprise governance theory