Are Social Enterprises in Romania EMES Social Enterprises?
Are Social Enterprises in Romania EMES Social Enterprises?

Summary/Abstract: Recent efforts of the European Union to integrate new member states such as Romania expand to the social economy sector as well. Works by Hoogendoorn et al. (2010) and Kerlin (2010) regard Europe as accommodating two schools of thought related to social entrepreneurship: EMES and the UK – social enterprise. Both views place great emphasis on social enterprise as the main indicator of the social entrepreneurial phenomena for the European continent. Using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, we attempt to answer the following question: Which forms of Romanian social economy organisations correspond theoretically and empirically to the EMES social enterprise criteria? The findings show that there are two types of organisations in Romania (sheltered workshops and enterprises set up by associations and foundation) that fulfil the EMES criteria to the largest extent. They are generally between 5 and 10 years old and are active in agriculture, trade and education.

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