Publication details
Social enteprises in the Czech Republic : context, practice ad approaches.
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| Year of publication | 2018 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
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| Description | The main aim of this chapter is to describe the recent development and current practice of social enterprises in the Czech Republic. In our view, we can distinguish two lines of understanding of social enterprises (SE) in the Czech Republic: First, the institutionalized approach that is based on the European definition, and is reflected in the Czech definition and principles of SE that have been developed during the last 15 years by the Czech national SE network TESSEA. This approach is also used by the Czech government. Second, the grass-root approach that is wider, and also includes community groups and initiatives that share the main SE principles, but are not incorporated, i.e. they do not have a concrete legal form. We characterize both these types of SE in detail and give an overview and living examples of their practical functioning in the Czech Republic. We argue that these two approaches are not mutually exclusive, but rather complementary; however, as the institutional support goes almost exclusively to the first – institutionalized type of SE, we suggest that it is important to recognize also the second, grass-root type of SE that – although less "legible" for the state apparatus – is still important for innovation and social change towards more economic democracy, social justice and environmental sustainability in the future. |
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