Cooperatives as Social Enterprise Origins

Explain why co-operatives are considered to be social enterprises

Cooperatives are considered as social enterprises because it is the developments made by cooperative movements which led to the formation of social enterprises. The efforts made by cooperative practitioners and educators in the south and north of England, along with the advocates in community enterprises in Scotland brought about the existence of social enterprises (Ridley-Duff, 2018, p. 2). Social enterprises are a more sustainable model growing out of the efforts by consumer cooperatives. Social enterprises are capable of supporting member-control, mutuality, trading activity and democratic governance which means that they can spread the values and principles of cooperatives (Hulgard, Pestoff, & Defourny, 2014). This is why, in international debates regarding social enterprises, cooperative models will always come up (Ridley-Duff, 2018, p. 8). Therefore, cooperatives are considered as social enterprises.

Bibliography

Hulgard, L., Pestoff, V., & Defourny, J. (2014). Social Enterprise and the Third Sector: Changing European Landscapes in a Comparative Perspective. Basingstoke: Routledge.