Social Entrepreneurship in Croatia: From Recognition to Implementation

Rad donosi sažeti prikaz razvoja i preliminarnu analizu postojećeg stanja društvenog poduzetništva u Hrvatskoj. Aktualnosti ove teme pridonijela je gospodarska, pa i ekološka, kriza te strategije vladinih tijela usmjerene na društveno poduzetništvo. Prvi je cilj rada prikazati nastanak i razvoj tog oblika poduzetništva u Hrvatskoj, koji se odvijao usporedo s tranzicijskim procesom i pridruživanjem Europskoj uniji. Drugi je cilj preliminarni prikaz baze aktera društvenog poduzetništva i njihova kapaciteta. Istraživanje usmjereno na uspostavu te baze provedeno je krajem 2014. i početkom 2015. O akterima društvenog poduzetništva najprije su prikupljeni podaci iz postojećih baza vladinih tijela i drugih ustanova, nakon čega su provedeni kratki strukturirani intervjui s vodećim ljudima detektiranih aktera usmjereni na teme njihove djelatnosti, prihoda i zaposlenika. Dio prikupljenih podataka potom je provjeren usporedbom s podacima Financijske agencije i Registra neprofitnih organizacija. Uspostavljena baza uključuje 90 subjekata, od kojih većinu čine udruge i zadruge (83%). Više od trećine aktera djeluje u Splitsko-dalmatinskoj i Osječko-baranjskoj županiji, dok u šest županija nije lociran nijedan. Ukupni su godišnji prihodi više od polovine aktera manji od milijun kuna, ali je i više od polovine prihoda svih aktera ostvareno tržišnim poduzetničkim aktivnostima. Zaključuje se da društveno poduzetništvo u Hrvatskoj, premda se razvijalo bez institucionalne potpore, predstavlja sve važniji čimbenik gospodarskog oporavka. Njegov kapacitet i potencijal orijentiran je prema socijalno osjetljivom poslovnom modelu. Aktualna državna strategija vezana uz društveno poduzetništvo, kao i zakonska regulativa koja je u pripremi, mogu potaknuti novi val razvoja društvenog poduzetništva kakav ranije, zbog izostanka institucionalnih okvira, nije bio moguć.This paper provides an overview of the development and a preliminary analysis of the current state of social entrepreneurship in Croatia. The topicality of that subject was boosted by the economic and even ecological crisis, as well as by governmental strategies related to social entrepreneurship. The first aim was to summarise the process of establishment and development of social entrepreneurship in Croatia, which occurred simultaneously with the transition process and accession to the European Union. The second aim was to present preliminary data from the established database of social entrepreneurship actors and their capacities. Research directed at the establishment of such a database was conducted in late 2014 and early 2015. Data about actors of social entrepreneurship was first gathered from the existing governmental and non-governmental bodies, which was followed by brief structured interviews with the key persons of the detected actors. The interviews inquired about their core businesses, income and employees. A part of the data was then validated by comparing it to the records of Croatia’s Financial Agency and the Registry of Non-Profit Organisations. The database included 90 subjects, most of which were associations and cooperatives (83%). More than a third of the actors were active in two Croatian counties (the Split-Dalmatia and Osijek-Baranja counties), while no such actors were detected in six counties. For more than a half of the actors, total annual income was less than one million Croatian kuna, but more than a half of the income of all the actors was generated through market-based entrepreneurial activities. In conclusion, social entrepreneurship in Croatia represents an increasingly important factor in the overall economic recovery even though it was developed without institutional support. Its capacity and potential is oriented towards a socially sensitive business model. The current governmental strategy on social entrepreneurship, as well as legislation that is in preparation, could stimulate a new wave of social entrepreneurship which was previously not possible due to a lack of overall institutional framework