Social Enterprise and Its Role in the Economy

The developed countries as well as Poland face negative economic and social problems like unemployment, poverty, disability. This problems make governments seek new forms and methods to alleviate them. It is the reason why new organizational forms of mix, hybride character have been created. Social enterprise is one of them. The goal of this paper is to evaluate the scope of social enterprises in Poland on the background of solutions adoptod in other European Union countries. Social enterprise is quite new form of organization. In the literature of the subject it appeared in the 1990-ties. The term has only theoretical meaning. Particular countries give it different names and interpretation. It is so important in this circumstances to present attempts to define social enterprise, its scope and kinds of activity in some EU countries and in Poland