The Chilean Case Over the Period 2006-2013
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
DELINEATING, DIFFERENTIATING AND UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL ENTERPRISES AND THEIR TWO-WAY RELATIONSHIP WITH PUBLIC POLICIES: THE CHILEAN CASE OVER THE PERIOD 2006-2013 Sebastián Gatica Montero Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University College London 2017 I, Sebastián Gatica Montero, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Abstract Social enterprises are an emerging phenomenon in the Chilean economy and society. They are characterised by their social aims, the adoption of market principle and logics, and their commitment to public interest. Today, the theoretical and analytical frameworks that seek to understand these organisations and their relationship with public policies mainly come from either social economy or for-profit social business schools of thought, thus lacking hybrid approaches. Moreover, such frameworks were mostly developed by researchers from developed countries. This thesis seeks to explore the field of Social Entreprises in a Latin American context, with Chile as an example, in the interest of make a contribution to the understanding of both, these socio-economic organisations and their relationship with public policies. The overall objective of this thesis is to answer the question: In the case of Chile, to what extent and why has the emergence and development of Social Enterprises been favoured by public policies during the last two national governments. The following objectives arise from this question: First, to know which are the distinctive features of Social Enterprises in Chile, and why; second, to explore which were the public policies developed and encouraged by the two national governments that supported Social Enterprises in Chile in their respective periods between 2006 and 2013, and the paradigms that nurtured them; and finally, to understand the implications of the public policies implemented by both governments on these organisations. A qualitative research approach and design were adopted. The research universe was delineated through a three prone approach: Associative, Business and Cooperative (ABC), based on the different legal traditions and single features of these organisations. Then, a research sample was selected to, firstly, differentiate and understand the various types of social enterprises included in the ABC approach, and secondly, explore public policies that concern them and the relationship between the two. These processes were developed through different tools such as semi-structured interviews, exploratory groups and workshops, among others. The main conclusions are, first, that the ABC approach functions as an alternative methodological and analytical tool to delineate, differentiate and understand all Social Enterprises traditions including some for-profit organisations, encompassing the particular historical institutional context of Chile. Second, that this approach contributes to highlight the fact that what unites Social Enterprises in Chile is stronger than what divides them; therefore, if public policies reinforce their convergence paths and respect what differentiates them, the ABC could become a human-centred approach to Social Enterprises. Third, the emergent and diverse mechanisms of incidence in public policies of Social Enterprises in Chile are not given by direct public policies, but rather by the paradigm of entrepreneurship and innovation that characterised the government of Sebastián Piñera. And finally, Social Enterprises, particularly type B ones, show a unique ability to innovate and influence public policies and foster cross-sector collaboration, which transforms them into key actors in the co-construction of more developmental public policies. Table of Contents Aknowledgments ........................................................................................................ 17 1.1. The Social Economy Debate and Definitions .................................................... 29 1.2. What is a Social Enterprise?............................................................................. 35 1.2.1. Historical and Contextual Perspectives: First Notions and Appearances .... 35 1.2.2. Social Enterprises: The Challenge of a Definition ...................................... 36 1.2.3. Different School of Thoughts Regarding Social Enterprises ....................... 37 1.2.4. Typologies ................................................................................................. 41 1.3. Why have Social Enterprises Emerged and Developed? .................................. 43 1.3.1. First Approach: Theories Related to the Notion of the Third Sector ............ 43 1.3.2. A Second Approach: Linked to Theories of Political Science and the Role of the State .............................................................................................................. 44 1.3.3. A Third Approach: An Inspiration on Institutional Theories ......................... 44 1.4. Placing Social Enterprises within Socioeconomic Sectors and the Whole Economy ................................................................................................................. 45 1.4.1. Social Enterprises and Socioeconomic Sectors ......................................... 45 1.4.2. Dynamics of Convergence and Emergence ............................................... 47 1.4.3. Placing Social Enterprises Within the Whole Economy .............................. 48 1.5. Social Enterprises: Towards an Instrumental Definition .................................... 52 1.5.1. The Starting Point: The EMES definition .................................................... 53 1.5.2. A Complement to EMES: Kerlin’s Definition ............................................... 54 1.5.3. The Blind Spot until Present Times: Social Enterprises and their Public Character ............................................................................................................. 54 1.6. Public Policies and Social Enterprises .............................................................. 56 1.6.1. Welfare and Social Enterprises .................................................................. 57 1.6.2. An Inclusive Perspective of Public Policies ................................................ 59 1.6.3. Paradigms of Public Policy Applied to Social Enterprises........................... 63 1.6.4. Social Enterprises Incidence in Public Policies .......................................... 66 1.7. Transitional Conclusions .................................................................................. 69 2.1. Previous Research Path and Definition of the Main Subject ............................. 73 2.2. Shaping the Research Question and Hypothesis .............................................. 74 2.2.1. Stages in the Shaping the Research Question ........................................... 74 2.2.2. Guiding Questions and Hypotheses ........................................................... 79 2.3. Type of Research Method and Methodological Tools ....................................... 81 2.3.1. A Qualitative Methodology of Research for Social Enterprises ................... 81 2.3.2. Tools Used for Data Production ................................................................. 82 2.4. Universe of Social Enterprises in Chile ............................................................. 91 2.4.1. Delineating the Universe ............................................................................ 91 2.5. Research Universe: ABC .................................................................................. 96 2.5.1. Research Sample: Differentiating Social Enterprises’ Traditions and Types ............................................................................................................................ 98 2.5.2. In-depth Research Sample: Understanding Social Enterprises and their Distinctive Features ........................................................................................... 102 2.6. Methodology Approach of the Analysis of Public Policies ............................... 104 2.6.1. Defining the Dimensions of Analysis ........................................................ 105 2.6.2. Selecting the State Institutions to be analysed ......................................... 108 2.7. Transitional Conclusions ................................................................................. 111 3.1. Salamon and Solokowski’s (2010) Framework on the Civil Society Sector Formation .............................................................................................................. 114 3.1.1. Civil Society or Third Sector Models ......................................................... 115 3.1.2. Theory of Social Origins in Support of Accounting for the Differences of the Civil Society Sector in Societies ......................................................................... 118 3.1.3. The Case of the Chilean Civil Society Sector ........................................... 119 3.2. Kerlin’s Institutional Conceptual Framework on the Emergence of Social Enterprises ............................................................................................................ 123 3.2.1. Kerlin’s Conceptual Framework................................................................ 124 3.2.2. Applying Kerlin’s Theoretical Framework to the Institutional Context of Social Enterprises in Chile ...........................................................................................