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Article
Publication date: 5 February 2018

Matthew MacDonald and Carole Howorth

Insights into the roots of social enterprise from before the term was adopted are provided by examining histories of charitable service and comparing current understandings of…

Abstract

Purpose

Insights into the roots of social enterprise from before the term was adopted are provided by examining histories of charitable service and comparing current understandings of social enterprise. Social enterprise models of welfare provision are evidenced from the seventeenth century onwards. Persistent themes are identified that provide insights for current practice and understanding.

Design/methodology/approach

This historiography examines interpretations from 1905 to the present day of examples of welfare provision between two watershed points: 1600, just prior to the Poor Laws and 1908, when the Old Age Pensions Act shifted emphasis in public sector provision.

Findings

Activities that would nowadays be termed social enterprise are evidenced in histories of charitable philanthropy covering each century since 1600. Prevailing attitudes uncritically demarcated deserving and undeserving poor. Histories contributed to a heroic narrative of social entrepreneurs, describing activities dependent on well-networked, politically active individuals that rarely continued beyond their involvement. The political environment was recognised to influence the types of organisations, governance and resourcing.

Research limitations/implications

The historiography takes examples from three centuries between 1600 and1908 but is not comprehensive. Recurrent themes are identified for further research.

Originality/value

Social enterprise is a twenty-first-century label but not a new phenomenon. Identification of prevailing themes provides insights for the understanding of social enterprises in the twenty-first century.

Details

Social Enterprise Journal, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-8614

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 1998

Carole Howorth and Nick Wilson

The issue of the late payment of commercial debt has been cited as a major problem facing small business and has precipitated much political debate. In the UK this has led to…

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Abstract

The issue of the late payment of commercial debt has been cited as a major problem facing small business and has precipitated much political debate. In the UK this has led to establishing the Better Payment Practice Group, and legislation to enforce a statutory right to interest on late payments. A number of surveys have highlighted the extent of the late payment problem and suggested possible causes for it but there has been relatively little work, theoretical and/or empirical on understanding the payment behaviours of firms. This paper builds on previously reported survey results and econometric analysis, to develop 13 small firm case studies where the management and financing of trade credit is analysed in detail. The case studies draw on a combination of qualitative and quantitative data from interview transcripts, questionnaire responses and secondary data. Credit management is examined from the firm’s perspective as both a supplier and a customer. Valuable information is provided on the extent of late payment and small firms’ perception and management of the problem. The analysis revealed that while late payment concerned all the firms interviewed some of them managed it better than others. At the extremes there were two distinct types of firms. Those who found late payment to be the greatest problem were “juggling” various forms of short‐term finance to fund their working capital. Their credit management procedures were ad hoc and unsystematic but there was no evidence that they were at the mercy of dominant customers. Firms who managed late payment had systematic credit management procedures in place, a good knowledge of when to expect payment from each of their customers and appeared to be more in control of the process. Longer‐term sources of finance provided them with the stability to plan ahead and there was sufficient flexibility in their financial structure to cope with minor hiccups.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 5 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2005

Carole Howorth, Sue Tempest and Christine Coupland

Purpose – The paper aims to highlight the potential of paradigm interplay for providing greater insight into entrepreneurship research, in this case definitions of the…

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Abstract

Purpose – The paper aims to highlight the potential of paradigm interplay for providing greater insight into entrepreneurship research, in this case definitions of the entrepreneur. Design/methodology/approach – Literature from entrepreneurship, organisation studies and strategy highlights the potential of multiple paradigm research. We demonstrate how to conduct such a study through paradigm interplay by applying four contrasting research perspectives to four case studies of habitual entrepreneurs. Findings – The practical challenges of conducting multiple paradigm research are illustrated. A number of consistent themes across all four paradigms provide some insight into the reasons why it is difficult to agree on a single definition of the entrepreneur. Insights into the value and operationalisation of multiple paradigm research in the field of entrepreneurship are provided. Research limitations/implications – An exhaustive review of definitions of the entrepreneur is not provided. This is a study into how multiple paradigm research can be used to enrich understanding. Advice for the conduct of studies employing paradigm interplay is presented. Practical implications – The same individuals or firms can be included or excluded depending on the definition employed. This can lead to confusion particularly in establishing eligibility and applicability of specific policy measures. Full awareness of underlying assumptions is required. Originality/value – Paradigm interplay is a new approach for entrepreneurship research

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 12 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 August 2012

Pascal Dey and Chris Steyaert

This paper seeks to pinpoint the importance of critical research that gets to problematise social entrepreneurship's self‐evidences, myths, and political truth‐effects, thus…

2890

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to pinpoint the importance of critical research that gets to problematise social entrepreneurship's self‐evidences, myths, and political truth‐effects, thus creating space for novel and more radical enactments.

Design/methodology/approach

A typology mapping four types of critical research gets developed. Each critique's merits and limitations are illustrated through existing research. Also, the contours of a fifth form of critique get delineated which aims at radicalising social entrepreneurship through interventionist research.

Findings

The typology presented entails myth‐busting (problematisation through empirical facts), critique of power‐effects (problematisation through denormalising discourses, ideologies, symbols), normative critique (problematisation through moral reflection), and critique of transgression (problematisation through practitioners' counter‐conducts).

Research limitations/implications

The paper makes it clear that the critique of social entrepreneurship must not be judged according to what it says but to whether it creates the conditions for novel articulations and enactments of social entrepreneurship.

Practical implications

It is argued that practitioners' perspectives and viewpoints are indispensible for challenging and extending scientific doxa. It is further suggested that prospective critical research must render practitioners' perspective an even stronger focus.

Originality/value

The contribution is the first of its kind which maps critical activities in the field of social entrepreneurship, and which indicates how the more radical possibilities of social entrepreneurship can be fostered through interventionist research.

Content available
Article
Publication date: 5 February 2018

Bob Doherty

398

Abstract

Details

Social Enterprise Journal, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-8614

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1993

Patrick Ragains

Blues music is in the midst of its second revival in popularity in roughly thirty years. The year 1960 can be identified, with some qualification, as a reference point for the…

Abstract

Blues music is in the midst of its second revival in popularity in roughly thirty years. The year 1960 can be identified, with some qualification, as a reference point for the first rise in international awareness and appreciation of the blues. This first period of wide‐spread white interest in the blues continued until the early seventies, while the current revival began in the middle 1980s. During both periods a sizeable literature on the blues has appeared. This article provides a thumbnail sketch of the popularity of the blues, followed by a description of scholarly and critical literature devoted to the music. Documentary and instructional materials in audio and video formats are also discussed. Recommendations are made for library collections and a list of selected sources is included at the end of the article.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 21 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Article
Publication date: 16 May 2016

Nicky Stanley-Clarke, Jackie Sanders and Robyn Munford

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the lessons learnt from the process of implementing a new model of governance within Living Well, a New Zealand statutory mental health…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the lessons learnt from the process of implementing a new model of governance within Living Well, a New Zealand statutory mental health agency.

Design/methodology/approach

It presents the findings from an organisational case study that involved qualitative interviews, meeting observations and document analysis. Archetype theory provided the analytical framework for the research enabling an analysis of both the formal structures and informal value systems that influenced the implementation of the governance model.

Findings

The research found that the move to a new governance model did not proceed as planned. It highlighted the importance of staff commitment, the complexity of adopting a new philosophical approach and the undue influence of key personalities as key determining factors in the implementation process. The findings suggest that planners and managers within statutory mental health agencies need to consider the implications of any proposed governance change on existing roles and relationships, thinking strategically about how to secure professional commitment to change.

Practical implications

There are ongoing pressures within statutory mental health agencies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of organisational structures and systems. This paper has implications for how planners and managers think about the process of implementing new governance models within the statutory mental health environment in order to increase the likelihood of sustaining and embedding new approaches to service delivery.

Originality/value

The paper presents insights into the process of implementing new governance models within a statutory mental health agency in New Zealand that has relevance for other jurisdictions.

Details

Journal of Health Organization and Management, vol. 30 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7266

Keywords

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