Statutory support and the implications for the employee profile of rural based Irish work integration social enterprises (WISEs)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the limitations of specific statutory support for the long‐term survival of rural based Irish work integration social enterprises (WISEs). Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on empirical research derived from a combination of qualitative and qualitative research methods which entailed a national survey of Irish social enterprises, a series of in depth interviews with the management of 13‐rural based WISES and a survey of a sample of employees across these 13 WISEs. Findings – Empirical evidence is used to provide a profile of the characteristics of the workforce of a sample of 13 rural WISEs. The paper argues that the rural location of these WISEs along with the prescriptive nature of the statutory support they receive have combined to both create and compound these challenges which in turn are argued to restrict the long‐term survival potential of these organisations. Originality/value – As there is a lack of information on Irish WISEs in general and rural‐based WISEs in particular, this paper is of value in addressing the deficit.