Each country gives a different value to the social economy even if it is only compared with the private profit-seeking sector and the public sector. The weight the social econo-my carries in national economies will influence the relevance that is given to it by the political power, especially by the head of state. Therefore, if this head of state assigns it more or less importance, it may mean the social sector has more or less significance in the economy, or at least in the minds of future entrepreneurs. The value given by the head of state to the enti-ties belonging to the social economy can be deduced from their speeches. In the Portuguese case, to measure the importance given by the Presidents of the Portuguese Republic to the social economy, we ran a content analysis of a total of 3,072 interventions and speeches that occurred between July 14, 1976, and December 31, 2020, which were delivered by five succes-sive presidents. It was concluded, in general, that despite not having ignored it altogether, the presidents elected by universal suffrage after the Carnation Revolution gave a lower value to the social economy.
The lack of affordable urban housing, mortgage credit restrictions, the lack of diversified housing policies, as well as changes in the composition of Spanish households, are factors that call for the reinvention of traditional methods of access to housing. The current socioeconomic reality has driven the resurgence of cooperativism, collaborative leverage or social economy as a method of access to housing. A hybrid model between buying and renting with the capacity to solve at least part of the current housing demand. According to data from the 2023 management report of the Confederation of Spanish Housing Cooperatives (Confed-eraci & oacute;n de Cooperativas de Viviendas de Espa & ntilde;a), in the last ten years housing cooperatives have doubled their growth, with the model of transfer of use and cooperative developments with public participation standing out in particular, although they are still incipient. In the new generation of housing cooperatives, it is possible to distinguish, in addition to an economic association for self-management and production of housing at cost for its partners, a common philosophical current that addresses environmental sustainability and community life based on social interaction. Consequently, this study proposes to analyze the potential of housing cooperatives, in their different forms of tenure, as a sustainable housing solution from an eco-nomic, social and environmental perspective. This is based on a dogmatic, legal and descrip-tive analysis combined with field research consisting of interviews with the main actors of co-operative housing projects in four different countries: Denmark, Canada, Uruguay and Spain.
This article analyzes the variables involved in the interactions among groups that participated in the creation, adaptation, and use of artifacts for prevention, care, and support during the COVID-19 pandemic in three regions of Chile: Atacama, Valparaiso, and the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, between March 2020 and April 2022. The concept of "vitality regime" is used as a theoretical tool to understand collective practices that emerged in response to market collapse and insufficient state action. The methodology combines digital ethnography, document analysis, and comparative qualitative analysis. Four key variables are identified: collective, strategic cooperation, use value, and objectification of positive value. The study shows how social organizations transformed their original missions to address the health crisis through mutual aid networks, collaborative production, and social technologies. These practices fostered positive reciprocity markets and redefined everyday artifacts as common goods. The article concludes that the vitality regime represents a form of collaborative economy that can contribute to the democratization of production and social sustainability in times of crisis.
Comparative empirical literature between public and private companies has focused fundamentally on efficiency and profitability indicators, with private companies show-ing overwhelming superiority. However, given the emergence of a new theory on public enter-prises (according to which they fulfil a public mission and are motivated by public service), this comparative literature proves to be too reductionist and incomplete. Consequently, this work aims to extend this empirical comparison to other financial indicators, some of which are either used very little (debt, liquidity) or not used at all (solvency, financial autonomy). The comparative analysis is conducted for Spain during a period of economic expansion: 2014-2019. The methodology involves statistically comparing the arithmetic means of each of the above indicators between the two types of enterprise. Results clearly show that public enterprises exhibit better performance in the indicators mentioned, which could be explained by their lower exposure to private debt or their access to guaranteed public financing. This work contributes to the literature by providing unpublished comparative empirical evidence between public and private enterprises on solvency, financial autonomy, liquidity and indebt-edness, for Spain and during a period of economic expansion.
The present research studies, through a quantitative approach, and using the AMO (Ability, Motivation and Opportunity) framework, the relationship between High Performance Working Systems (HPWS) with the commitment and satisfaction of workers, placing special emphasis on focus on the professional groups of blue-collar workers (blue-collar) and white-collar workers (white-collar). The study is carried out in an industrial worker cooperative where, through a survey, 123 valid responses have been obtained. The results show two conclusions. On the one hand, it has been shown that perceptions of people management practices influence both satisfaction and commitment. And, on the other hand, the results have shown that belonging to one professional group or another has a significant influence on the satisfaction variable; but not on commitment. The present study aims to open future lines of research, emphasizing the importance and need to explore in greater depth the blue-collar and white-collar variables in the field of people management and in cooperative environments.
The digital revolution has led to the digitization of the economy, giving rise to a platform economy. This new model is rapidly growing and significantly affects various eco-nomic sectors. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has accelerated this process. The social economy is also experiencing the effects of this phenomenon and has the potential to support the advancement of alternative digitalization models. This study examines the adoption of platform business models within the social economy, with a focus on professionalization, integration of gender-egalitarian practices, and the embrace of open and free knowledge and software. To achieve this, an analysis of twenty-seven social economy entities in Barcelona was conducted, utilizing data collected from an online questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, web observations, and follow-up notes. These cases are part of the Barcelona UOC Chair in the Digital Economy, supported by the Barcelona City Council, Barcelona Activa and Open University of Catalonia. The research findings reveal limitations in the adoption of platform models, including a shortage of digital strategy staff, limited evaluation of the digital impact and organizational models that lack comprehensive integration of the gender perspective. Additionally, there are challenges in adopting the Free/Libre and Open-Source Software tools.
This paper contributes to the study of the legal regulations of community banking in Ecuador in the face of the hostile reality of the market and its most pressing needs. For this, through the analysis of the Community Fund of Atucucho, its implications and transversal aspects are analyzed, keeping in mind its social work based on the lack of guarantee of the credit subjects. The analysis implies the recognition of the practical affectations in addition to conducting in-depth interviews with the representatives of the bank, as well as with actors present in the institutional life of the country related to the social economy. The work evidences the history of the formation of the bank, the successive change of name from community bank to community bank and community bank; as well as the clear existence of a contradiction in the face of recognition as indicated by the Constitution of Ecuador and the existing reality. From then on, weakness processes of an exogenous nature are evident, deriving from them political, social, economic and cultural implications as a result of the successive changes made to the regulations issued by the control agencies, compromising their normal development and social impact.
Over the past decade, several municipal and regional governments in Spain have implemented policies aimed at promoting the Social Economy and cooperative entrepreneurship. Many of these policies have been characterized by a strategic, cross-cutting, and integrated approach, influencing various areas of public policy in accordance with the framework of second-generation Social Economy promotion policies. Given that the Valencian Community has become a leader in the development of such initiatives, this article focuses on analysing and evaluating the promotional policies implemented in the municipality of Castell & oacute; de la Plana. The study adopts the perspective of second-generation policies and the framework of public policy strategies designed to foster cooperative entrepreneurship and social innovation within the broader context of local development strategies. Specifically, the article examines the case of BETACOOP, the first cooperative for entrepreneurs in the Valencian Community, as well as municipal grant programs supporting the integration of worker-members into cooperatives and the promotion of social innovation. The research methodology includes surveys and interviews with users, beneficiaries, and policy managers. The findings suggest that, while the impact of these policies is notable, they predominantly strengthen the supply side. A significant gap in policies aimed at stimulating demand and enhancing the social and institutional environment is identified, which could compromise the sustainability and overall effectiveness of these initiatives.
Social innovation refers to new ideas, products, services, and models that seek to address social problems and needs, driven by a variety of actors such as universities and civil society. However, empirical evidence analyzing the role of universities in social innovation remains limited, as do studies exploring the relationship between personality traits and the tendency to engage in social innovation. This study aims to identify and analyze the personal characteristics that influence the development of social innovation processes. To this end, data were collected from a sample of 1,900 students at the University of Huelva, and a quantitative, descriptive-exploratory methodology based on structural equation modeling was applied. The results reveal that, within the university context, the main personal characteristics that drive social innovation processes are teamwork, internal locus of control, innovative capacity, risk-taking, self-confidence, social leadership, ability to work under pressure, social aware-ness, saving tendency, gender, participation in volunteer activities, and having entrepreneurial members.
Rural depopulation represents one of the main structural challenges to territorial cohesion and sustainable development, leading to the reconfiguration of social networks, the loss of essential services, and institutional contraction. In this context, social capital emerges as a key yet often underutilized relational infrastructure that sustains collective action and enables bottom-up processes of social innovation. This study examines the case of Valverde de Burguillos (Extremadura), a municipality of 278 inhabitants with a high demographic vulner-ability, which has managed to implement pioneering projects through networks of trust, local leadership, and inter-institutional cooperation. Based on a qualitative methodology involving 25 semi-structured interviews with key local actors and analyzed using Atlas.ti, the research identifies five key dimensions of social capital (trust, participation, support, knowledge, and leadership) and explores their interaction in shaping community-led development. The study integrates relational theory with situated empirical evidence and offers concrete policy rec-ommendations for designing replicable strategies in rural areas at risk.
This study examines how non-financial cooperatives with mixed governance structures-comprising both natural persons and representatives of cooperative legal entities-exhibit significantly different levels of profitability and short-and long-term indebtedness compared to cooperatives whose governance is composed exclusively of natural persons. Us-ing panel data from Colombian cooperatives over 14 years, the study estimates fixed-effects panel data models via ordinary least squares, while addressing potential endogeneity con-cerns through generalized method of moments (GMM) estimators. The results indicate that the presence of representatives of legal entities on supervisory boards and within the fiscal audit function contributes to stronger control over both short-and long-term debt. In contrast, greater participation by natural persons is associated with a higher propensity to request and approve elevated levels of indebtedness. Additionally, the analysis identifies a positive and statistically significant relationship between the presence of legal entities in cooperative gov-ernance and financial profitability, regardless of the specific governing body in which they participate. From a theoretical perspective, these findings suggest that agency theory and stewardship theory are complementary frameworks for explaining the relationship between board composition and cooperative performance.
This article introduces the Social Capital Assessment Tool for Peasant and Agricultural Cooperatives (SCAT-PACs), an innovative methodology consisting of 44 composite indicators grouped into 15 dimensions, three of which derive from social network analysis. The tool was applied in a beekeepers' cooperative in the Maule Region (Chile) to test its empirical applicability. The results reveal medium levels of structural social capital (67.49/100) and normative-cognitive social capital (66.32/100), along with higher scores in governance-related aspects (79.45/100). The analysis highlights notable strengths, such as member motivation, trust in institutions, and effective internal governance mechanisms. It also identifies weaknesses, including limited technical knowledge, low female participation, and limited proactivity. SCAT-PAC enables benchmarking and longitudinal monitoring of cooperative performance, complementing traditional financial assessments and providing valuable input for the design of public policies. The study demonstrates the potential of the tool to make the "invisible" dimensions of social capital visible and operational for cooperative development.
Cooperatives are a different business entity, considered hybrid organisations that combine economic and social purposes. They are democratically managed organisations, owned by the members, who also fulfil the role of uppliers, workers, or customers. The fact that standard setters take the investor-owned firm as a model to develop accounting standards produces recurrent unfitness of these standards regarding cooperatives. We have developed a comprehensive literature review to shed light on the work done to date, detect gaps, and suggest future lines of research. Equity-liability distinction is the most studied topic, normative-critical methodology is the most applied, and many specific topics in cooperatives are unaddressed, such as business combinations, transactions with members, performance, comparative studies between countries, etc. Cooperative accounting has contributed advances to the accounting discipline, among others, showing that the concept of ownership is multidimensional and depends on the type of enterprise. It has provided methodological developments to empirically test whether the economic substance of shares is liabilities or equity, and it has shown that some decisions by accounting regulators have been ineffective.The research is perceived as a reaction to issued accounting standards, and as such, additional research on the process of issuing accounting standards and proactive research is advocated.
En este primer cuarto de siglo XXI el modelo que representan las empresas de trabajo asociado disfruta de un renovado interés e impulso tanto desde el ámbito institucional como el científico. Los principios y los valores en los que se basa su razón de ser están hoy en día más de actualidad que nunca en un entorno en el que han surgido nuevos modelos, como los que preconiza la responsabilidad social corporativa, la economía colaborativa o la economía circular, que tienen en común que conjugan el impacto económico, social y medioambiental, que es algo que las empresas de trabajo asociado, integrantes de la Economía Social, llevan haciendo desde siempre. En este trabajo se analizan las principales aportaciones y avances que se han producido en cuanto a la investigación en las Sociedades Cooperativas de Trabajo Asociado como en las Sociedades Laborales que son dos referentes jurídicos de empresas de trabajo asociado por antonomasia. También, se apuntan algunos retos a los que se enfrentan, así como líneas de investigación futuras a partir de las lagunas detectadas en la literatura.
España podría considerarse uno de aquellos países en los que ha existido participación laboral con derecho a voto en los consejos de administración, a juzgar por la existencia de prácticas en empresas públicas, derivadas de un acuerdo de participación sindical de 1986, o en las cajas de ahorros, cuyos órganos rectores daban cabida a la participación de las personas empleadas antes de derogarse en 2013 la ley 31/1985.Sin embargo, un análisis más detallado revela cómo este tipo de participación apenas pudo despegar como sistema ni en la empresa pública ni en las cajas, tuvo escasa repercusión en el debate público y en las agendas sindicales, y se enfrentó a un rechazo patronal sistemático en un entorno económico y político hostil. A pesar de dichas experiencias, la participación de las personas trabajadoras en el gobierno corporativo ha continuado siendo tabú en España hasta que, en 2023, la coalición de gobierno PSOE-Sumar y el Ministerio de Trabajo se propusieron reactivar este nivel de participación.Basándose en una revisión bibliográfica, análisis jurídico y análisis de veinte entrevistas expertas, este artículo analiza los orígenes y desarrollo de la participación en consejos de administración en España, así como las fluctuaciones y ambigüedades en el debate, posiciones y práctica de dicha participación por parte de empresas y sindicatos. Finalmente, el artículo se centra en la actualidad para entender las perspectivas de futuro de esta área de la política social.
La Unión Europea viene recomendando desde hace años a los Estados miembros que faciliten e incentiven la participación de los trabajadores en la empresa, por razones diversas, desde la mejora de la productividad, la innovación o la sostenibilidad de ésta, a la justicia social o la democratización de la empresa.Por otra parte, la Constitución Española en su artículo 129.2 ordena a los poderes públicos promover eficazmente las diversas formas de participación en la empresa.Tras describir las principales formas de participación de los trabajadores en la empresa, hemos optado por centrar la atención en la participación en los órganos de administración de las sociedades titulares de las empresas.El objetivo ha sido analizar la legislación española para determinar si se facilita e incentiva dicha participación en los diversos tipos de empresas: empresas públicas, empresas de capital y empresas de la economía social, haciendo referencia también a las sociedades participadas reguladas en la Ley 44/2015.La conclusión obtenida ha sido que, dejando al margen la legislación sobre cajas de ahorro, donde sí hubo una apuesta decidida por democratizarlas dando participación a sus trabajadores en todos los órganos sociales, el reconocimiento de la participación de los trabajadores en las demás clases de empresas ha sido prácticamente nulo (sociedades de capital, incluidas las sociedades laborales), o muy limitado (empresas públicas y cooperativas).Los poderes públicos, 47 años después, siguen incumpliendo el mandato constitucional de promover eficazmente las diversas formas de participación de los trabajadores en las empresas.
En términos generales, las propuestas que promueven mayores niveles de democracia en las organizaciones tienen como el principal factor de impulso a la participación de los trabajadores en la propiedad, o en los espacios decisorios institucionales-estratégicos. En este aspecto, es posible ampliar dichas propuestas incorporando al análisis otros dominios decisorios de naturaleza más táctica y operativa, que representan espacios laborales cuya cercanía percibida resulta muy patente para el trabajador típico. Sin embargo, el arreglo burocrático-weberiano continúa siendo la tecnología social universalmente utilizada para gestionar estos ámbitos organizacionales, constituyéndose en un límite para la profundización de la participación de los trabajadores en la toma de decisiones. Por otra parte, a pesar de la existencia de variadas y exitosas experiencias de gestión horizontal, el cambio hacia un paradigma que trascienda a la burocracia (conservando todas sus virtudes) todavía luce lejano, ya que -entre otros elementos- se requiere de un corpus teórico alternativo que brinde a académicos y profesionales practicantes la confianza necesaria para adoptarlo. En este sentido, a través de una revisión bibliográfica “integradora”, el aporte del artículo consiste en el esbozo de una narrativa académica que proporciona fundamentos teóricos para explicar, de forma sistemática y concisa, por qué los arreglos de gestión horizontal que se apartan del mainstream burocrático se muestran estables, eficaces y eficientes. Con ello, se pretende contribuir a la consolidación de un paradigma alternativo que fomente una más profunda participación de los trabajadores en la toma de todas las decisiones organizacionales.
La principal característica de las “economías dirigidas por la innovación” es que las nuevas tecnologías, la globalización y la extensión del sector servicios han convertido al trabajo no cualificado en un factor de producción secundario, cediendo el protagonismo al talento.Por eso, en las “empresas dirigidas por la innovación», esto es, las que están compuestas esencialmente de talento, desde la perspectiva de la propia eficiencia económica tiene efectos positivos el otorgar un mayor poder de decisión a los trabajadores, ya que la colaboración en la gestión entre empresarios y sindicatos mejora el capital organizacional de las empresas. Los trabajadores son los primeros interesados en maximizar su capital humano, del mismo modo que los principales interesados en maximizar el valor del capital físico de las empresas fordistas del siglo XX eran sus accionistas.En estas economías de alta productividad y competitividad, como Alemania y los países nórdicos, el que se haya mantenido, durante décadas, un mayor equilibrio en el poder de negociación entre accionistas y trabajadores, y que se hayan desarrollado leyes de participación de los trabajadores en la empresa, ha permitido que los trabajadores, en la actualidad, disfruten de salarios más altos. Por tanto, la democratización de las empresas también es un potente instrumento para alcanzar sociedades más igualitarias.
El texto propone un marco general para el análisis de la participación de las personas trabajadoras en la empresa, y profundiza en la teoría y evidencia sobre la relación entre participación y eficiencia económica (productividad y bienestar de los trabajadores). La selección de la teoría y la evidencia está sesgada hacia investigaciones económicas que valoran la relación entre participación y eficiencia cuando el derecho de participación de los trabajadores está establecido por imperativo legal, y utilizan métodos de investigación cuasi experimentales. La revisión de los trabajos seleccionados sugiere que la participación laboral/cogestión en los países donde está establecida por ley, no cambia sustancialmente las relaciones de poder en las compañías, aunque podría mejorar marginalmente el desempeño de la empresa y el bienestar de los trabajadores por el impulso que supone para el intercambio de información y la cooperación, y por un aumento de la influencia de los trabajadores a través de más autonomía en su entorno de trabajo.
Este artículo explora el papel de los sindicatos en la transformación de empresas capitalistas en quiebra en empresas de economía social, centrándose en España y Argentina. Mediante una revisión de la literatura académica, examina cómo los sindicatos se involucraron en la recuperación empresarial liderada por los trabajadores. El estudio sitúa estas dinámicas en los movimientos obreros, la propiedad obrera y la autogestión como alternativas a las relaciones laborales tradicionales. En España, la conversión de empresas en quiebra en sociedades de propiedad obrera comenzó en la década de 1960 y se expandió durante las crisis industriales de las dos décadas siguientes. La Ley de Sociedades del Trabajo (1986) institucionalizó este modelo, garantizando el control de los empleados. Sindicatos como CCOO y UGT reconocieron gradualmente el valor pragmático de la propiedad obrera para la preservación del empleo, a pesar de las tensiones entre representación y autogestión. El caso de TUSGSAL demuestra una recuperación exitosa respaldada por sindicatos. La experiencia argentina, desencadenada por la crisis de 2001, fue más espontánea y marcada por el conflicto: los trabajadores ocuparon y reactivaron más de 300 fábricas cerradas como cooperativas, logrando la preservación del empleo y el empoderamiento a pesar de los obstáculos financieros y legales. En comparación, la colaboración estructurada de España contrasta con la resiliencia de base argentina. El artículo concluye que los sindicatos pueden desempeñar un papel catalizador crucial si adoptan los principios de la autogestión, fortalecen las alianzas cooperativas y fomentan nuevos marcos institucionales que vinculen trabajo, economía social y propiedad democrática.
