SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS A CHALLENGE IN ECONOMIC CRISIS

Zahodna gospodarstva se vse bolj usmerjajo v visoko tehnološke in delovno nizko intenzivne panoge, kar vodi v smeri rasti brez zaposlovanja. Kot problem na ravni ekonomije in sociale se tako zastavlja vprašanje, kako zagotoviti preživetje in socialno vključenost ljudi, ki jih bo tržni sektor izključil iz produkcijskih procesov. Kot odgovor se ponuja razvoj tretjega sektorja, ki zajema socialna podjetja, ki sicer delujejo po tržnem principu, vendar so podrejena neprofitnim ciljem zagotavljanja splošnega družbenega dobra ter vračanja ustvarjenih dobičkov v podjetja ali skupnost. Zaenkrat pa obstaja še mnogo nedorečenega tako na področju definiranja tretjega sektorja in socialne ekonomije kot tudi na področju zagotavljanja primernih pravnih, fiskalnih in organizacijskih mehanizmov, ki bi omogočali primeren razvoj tega sektorja. Politiki in družbi nasploh se zato zastavlja naloga vzpostavitve primernega formalnega ozadja za razvoj tretjega sektorja, ki bo v prihodnje prevzemal ključne funkcije v strukturi družbe. Socialno ekonomijo lahko opredelimo kot sistem podjetij in drugih pravnih subjektov, ki ne delujejo pretežno z namenom povečevanja dobičkov, temveč težijo k drugim ciljem, predvsem k splošnemu razvoju družbe v celoti. Vendar je razumevanje socialne ekonomije v različnih državah in različnih družbah različno. Kar je državam članicam Evropske unije skupnega je predvsem strinjanje v tem, da socialna ekonomija predstavlja pomembno komponento evropskega ekonomskega modela in je hkrati zelo pomembna kot aktivnost, ki pripomore k promoviranju socialne kohezije in demokracije. V zadnjih letih je socialno podjetništvo postalo predmet številnih pogovorov, predavanj in raziskav. Okolje, kamor je bilo postavljeno, pa nekako še ni zaživelo. Za slovensko okolje je socialno podjetništvo nekaj novega glede na zakonodajo in nekaj starega glede na načela, po katerih deluje. Njegovi podporniki se vztrajno trudijo, da bi socialno podjetništvo prišlo v veljavo. Družbena inovacija je tista, ki lahko spremeni sistem in posledično vsaj za določeno ciljno skupino ali družbo tudi življenje. Ali je družbena inovacija kot taka uresničena v klasičnem ali socialnem podjetništvu, v javnem sektorju ali nevladni organizaciji, ni pomembno, saj so njeni družbeni učinki nad tem. Socialno podjetništvo krepi družbeno solidarnost, spodbuja sodelovanje ljudi in prostovoljno delo, krepi sposobnost družbe za reševanje težav (socialnih, gospodarskih, okoljskih in drugih), zagotavlja dodatno ponudbo proizvodov in storitev, razvija nove možnosti zaposlovanja, zagotavlja dodatna delovna mesta in socialno integracijo ter poklicno reintegracijo ranljivih skupin ljudi na trgu dela (Romov, invalidov, prvih iskalcev zaposlitve – mladih, starejših iskalcev zaposlitve in drugih). Primeri dobrih praks nakazujejo pozitivno prihodnost socialnega podjetništva. Izkušnje drugih držav Evropske unije potrjujejo, da socialna podjetja opravljajo najrazličnejše dejavnosti tam, kjer je zatajil bodisi trg ali država, kar bi lahko povzročilo socialno izključenost in visoko stopnjo nezaposlenosti določenih delov družbe zaradi omejene sposobnosti državnih in lokalnih organov za reševanje nekaterih vprašanj socialnega varstva in gospodarskih izzivov, ki so jih sprožila regionalna in globalna gospodarska gibanja. Magistrsko delo je razdeljeno na tri dele in sicer: uvodni del, teoretični del in empirični del. V uvodnem delu so zajeta splošna poglavja: opredelitev področja in opis problema, namen in cilji raziskave, temeljne hipoteze, predpostavke in omejitve raziskave ter predvidene metode raziskovanja. Drugi, teoretični del, zajema šest poglavij. Prvo poglavje teoretičnega dela opredeljuje pojme, cilje in načela socialnega podjetništva, razlike med socialnim in običajnim podjetništvom ter dejavnosti in področja, ki jih lahko zajema socialno podjetništvo. Podala bom tudi pregled socialnega podjetništva v Evropski uniji in Sloveniji. Drugo poglavje zajema družbeno inovacijo kot podlago sociThe western economies are increasingly focusing on high technology and low work intensity industries. This leads to an economic growth without further employment. On the level of the economy and social services a question arises: how to secure survival and social inclusion of people that will be excluded by the market sector due to production processes? The answer to this is the development of the third sector consisting of social enterprises operating on the market principle. However, these enterprises are submissive to non-profit objectives to ensure common social good and returning the profit to companies and the community. Currently, there are a lot of unresolved issues in the area of defining the third sector, social economy, and also in providing appropriate legal, fiscal and organisational mechanisms that would allow the appropriate development of this sector. Therefore, a task is given to the politicians and the society to set up an appropriate formal background for the development of the third sector, which will take over the key functions in the structure of the society in the future. The social economy can be defined as a system of companies and other legal entities that do not predominantly operate to increase profits. They strive for other objectives, such as common development of the society. However, comprehension of social economy differs in individual countries and societies. Common to all the members of the European Union is that they agree that the social economy presents an important component of the European economic model and is very important as an activity, which contributes to the promotion of the social cohesion and democracy. In recent years, social entrepreneurship has become the subject of numerous discussions, lectures and public researches. Nevertheless, it still has not come to life in the environment in which it was set up. In Slovenia, social entrepreneurship is something new considering legislation, and something old considering the principles by which it operates. Its supporters are persistently trying to achieve legal standing. The system can be changed by the social innovation, and consequently also the life of a specific target group or society. It does not matter if the social innovation as such is realizable in the social entrepreneurship, public sector or non- government organization due to the fact that its social effects are above that. Social entrepreneurship strengthens society’s solidarity and its ability to solve problems (social, economic, environmental and others), encourages collaboration among people and voluntary work, ensures additional offer of products and services, develops new employment opportunities, provides new jobs, social integration and professional reintegration of vulnerable groups of people in the labour market (Roma, people with disabilities, the first job seekers.- youth, elderly job seekers and others). Examples of good practice suggest a positive future for social entrepreneurship. The experience in other countries of the European Union confirms that social enterprises are engaged in various activities where either the market or the states have failed. Due to limited ability of state and local authorities to solve individual questions of social protection and economic challenges triggered by regional and global economic movements, this could lead to the social exclusion and high unemployment rate of specific parts of society. The master’s thesis consists of three parts: the introduction, the theoretical and the empirical part. The introductory part includes definitions, the description of the problem, the purpose and the objectives of the research, the basic hypotheses, the limitations of the research and the intended research methods. The second, theoretical part includes six chapters. In the first chapter of the theoretical part, concepts, objectives and principles of social entrepreneurship, differences between social and normal entrepreneurship,