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Social Enterprise in China: Driving Forces, Development Patterns And Social Enterprise Journal Social enterprise in China: driving forces, development patterns and legal framework Xiaomin Yu Article information: To cite this document: Xiaomin Yu, (2011),"Social enterprise in China: driving forces, development patterns and legal framework", Social Enterprise Journal, Vol. 7 Iss 1 pp. 9 - 32 Permanent link to this document: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17508611111130130 Downloaded on: 11 October 2016, At: 23:32 (PT) References: this document contains references to 48 other documents. To copy this document: [email protected] The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 1596 times since 2011* Users who downloaded this article also downloaded: (2011),"Emerging models of social enterprise in Eastern Asia: a cross-country analysis", Social Enterprise Journal, Vol. 7 Iss 1 pp. 86-111 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17508611111130176 (2011),"Similarities and divergences: comparison of social enterprises in Hong Kong and Taiwan", Social Enterprise Journal, Vol. 7 Iss 1 pp. 33-49 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17508611111130149 Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:498324 [] For Authors If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company Downloaded by Beijing Normal University At 23:32 11 October 2016 (PT) manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. *Related content and download information correct at time of download. The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1750-8614.htm Social enterprise Social enterprise in China: driving in China forces, development patterns and legal framework Xiaomin Yu 9 School of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China Abstract Purpose – This paper seeks to address emerging practices of social enterprises (SEs) in China by exploring the institutional context, organisational features and legislative framework of this new phenomenon. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is based on data drawn from secondary sources (laws and regulations, forum transcripts and news reports) and primary evidence (in-depth study of six SE cases). Findings – The various kinds of SEs are highly diversified in terms of social mission, organisational nature, legal form, and operational pattern; the institutional context is underdeveloped, providing growing but still limited financial, intellectual, technical, and human resources; although it allows increasing space for diversified development dynamics of SEs, the legislative system regulating SEs is still flawed in several vital ways. Research limitations/implications – This paper relies heavily on qualitative research methods to make a preliminary assessment of the development of China’s SEs. Neither primary nor secondary data sources collected for this paper can be used to draw any general conclusion of statistical significance. Originality/value – The paper sheds light on the overall landscape of the recent development of SEs in China, providing a descriptive and normative foundation for cross-country comparative studies and quantitative, explanatory analysis. Keywords China, Society, Non-profit organizations, Social enterprise Paper type Research paper 1. Introduction Broadly defined as a business venture or economic activities aiming at the achievement of social and collective purposes while operating with the financial discipline, innovation and determination of a private-sector business (Alter, 2007), social Downloaded by Beijing Normal University At 23:32 11 October 2016 (PT) enterprise (SE) has gained increasing momentum globally over the last two decades. However, the development of SE remains quite a new phenomenon in China, where the past several years have seen a growth in discussions, agencies and practices dealing with SE, social entrepreneurship and social innovation. SEs in China are sprouting in the soil of the country’s escalating market transition, where the role of the socialist state as a social welfare provider has shrunk significantly, the market economy has grown dramatically, and civil society organisations have expanded in various directions. The development dynamics of SEs in contemporary China have generated a variety of puzzles awaiting scientific research. What kinds of organisations are defined as SEs in China, and according to Social Enterprise Journal The author owes a considerable debt of gratitude to Professor Jacques Defourny – without his Vol. 7 No. 1, 2011 encouragement and invaluable suggestions this article could never have been written. A special pp. 9-32 r Emerald Group Publishing Limited acknowledgement is due to Sophie Adam who has offered professional support in language 1750-8614 polishing and editing. DOI 10.1108/17508611111130130 SEJ what standards? How can SEs in China be categorised by constructing an 7,1 evidence-based typology? What are the major social problems or needs to which SEs strive to provide solutions, and how? What are the major features of legal framework for SEs? All these questions are still almost unexamined, despite their practical and theoretical significance. This paper seeks to somehow help to fill this research gap and to shed light on the 10 new phenomenon of SEs in China, especially by focusing on the specific socioeconomic context of the social welfare regime transformation during China’s market transition. However, this paper is only a preliminary study. It is based on both secondary and primary data collected through two research approaches. First, the author carried out a comprehensive review of secondary resources, including SE-related legislation and policies, transcripts of SE forums and media reports. Second, using in-depth interviews and participative observation, the author conducted case studies of several typical SEs in major sectors where SEs play growing roles. 2. Definition and typology of SE in China 2.1 How to define SE in China? SE was a little known notion in China until 2004, when theories developed abroad began to be increasingly introduced in the country through a series of forums, symposia and conferences. However, practitioners and academics have not yet reached a consensus on the definition of SE in the Chinese context. The ongoing debates mainly focus on two issues: SEs’ organisational nature (non-profits or for-profits) and their method of income generation (largely market-based or integrating resources from various origins – market revenue, social donation and government subsidies) [Cultural and Education Section of British Embassy (CESBE), 2008]. The current efforts to delineate SEs in China thus encapsulate two important conceptual elements but may also miss other major components, frequently discussed in existing SE literature, such as the levels of “non-governmentality” and autonomy, community orientation and governance models underlined for instance in the works of the EMES European Research Network[1] (Defourny, 2001; Defourny and Nyssens, 2010). The development of SEs in China is currently still in its infancy, and the underpinning characteristics of SEs remain blurred and sometimes indistinguishable. Moreover, the absence of specific legislation on SEs in China makes it difficult to elaborate a precise working definition. Consequently, the author believes that a Downloaded by Beijing Normal University At 23:32 11 October 2016 (PT) “grounded theory” approach may be useful to formulate an empirical-based definition of SEs in China; in other words it is wise to start with a SE concept broadly defined as “a business venture or economic activities driven by social objectives”, and to base conceptualising efforts firmly and flexibly upon the evolving development dynamics of diverse SE initiatives. 2.2 Towards a multi-level typology of SE in China To shed light on the characteristics of diverse categories of SEs in Asian countries, various scholars have taken a typological analysis approach, examining the development origins, legal status, organisational missions (especially social objectives) and operational patterns of various types of SEs (Bidet and Eum, 2010; Kitajima, 2010; Kuan and Wang, 2010; Laratta, 2010; Santos et al., 2009; Tsukamoto and Nishimura, 2009). To obtain a bird’s-eye view of the convergences and divergences among SEs in East Asian countries, Defourny and Kim (2010) categorise SEs into five major models, thereby opening up multiple comparative perspectives. In the line of those scholars and considering the complexity of development Social enterprise dynamics of SEs in China, the author chose to build here a typology based on five in China relevant dimensions (see Table I). First, SEs can be distinguished according to their development origins. On the basis of this dimension, four major types of SEs can be identified: Chinese SEs can
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