Theoretical debate about the nature of charitable foundations has traditionally become polarized around two distinct conceptual approaches: the non-profit or third sector approach, versus the social economy approach. This research tries to find a common ground between these two approaches, and...

In recent years, Spanish and European political and social institutions have been showing increasing interest in entities working at an intermediate level between the Public Administration and private enterprise. This type of institution forms what is known as the Third Sector. The main aim of...

Work integration social enterprises (WISE) are under pressure in two different regards. On the one hand, they have to participate in the market and compete with other firms, ensuring that they are sustainable in terms of prices, costs and quality. On the other hand, they endeavour to offer a...

The current situation of the sector is the result of a long process. It began with the first business initiatives concerning social integration and the different regulations developed by regional governments in support of social enterprises. There have been continual demands in the sector for...

This report advance a socio-economic theory of the voluntary organisation aiming at conceiving this organisational form in its complexity and at analysing it from both the viewpoints of its economical and political (democratic) dimensions. Three questions are purpose: to what extend democratic...

The purpose of this article is to analyse the most significant results of an extensive social research project on the public image of the Third Sector in Spain. The findings of an opinion survey applied to a statistically representative sample of the adult Spanish population is complemented by...

The aim of this article is to set out the main aspects of the development experienced by non-profit-making social services organisations to become organisations that are structured and managed in a more professional and businesslike manner. The authors include in the concept of “social...

Based on the definition of social enterprise, this article analyses the companies operating within the sphere of social integration through work from the concept of social enterprise. A brief analysis is made of the process of institutionalisation of work integration social enterprises in Spain....

In this paper, we intend to analyze some scientific questions of current importance in the Social Economy field and Non-profit sector. In the first place, we show the growing economical importance of this field in Europe, based on the results obtained in the last transnational study. Secondly,...