RESPONSIBLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP VISION DEVELOPMENT AND ETHICS

212 RESPONSIBLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP
competitive advantage (Freeman, Edwards, & Schroder, 2006). For instance, practically, these
networks offer the possibility to the social enterprises to engage in business partnerships.
Formal networks are made up of at least three enterprises that sign a common collaboration
contract in order to start a pre-established activity, in a determined time frame. These
business networks have varied characteristics and may be in the form of sub-contracting, strategic
alliances, technological transfer agreements etc. (Dictionary of basic terms in
entrepreneurship, 2013, p. 20).
The establishment of a network is undertaken due to the initiative of a social enterprise
that takes over the role of coordinator, accepted by all network members. The following step
is to determine its objective and to find social enterprises that wish to cooperate. The collaborators
may belong to a similar sector (horizontal collaborations), may be from different sectors
of the same chain (vertical collaborations) or may come from complementary sectors of
the branch (collaborations in diagonal). In any of the situations, the basic element for the success
of the network objective is building trust between the partners. After the partners have
been determined, the time horizon and the collaboration type are established. Some networks
can be built on the basis of verbal agreement and others on the basis of a contract, signed by
all network members. After creating the network, the actions to be implemented are decided,
as well as their financing manner. In this stage, essential are the resources and competences
held by the collaborators, which must be complementary, in order to be efficiently used in
the network promotion. When the network was created, the existence of an active management
is necessary for its efficient functioning. The persons participating in the network management
are decided by the member enterprises (Adapted after the Dictionary of basic terms
in entrepreneurship, 2013, p. 20). An effective network leads to the creation of rewards to its
members and social capital (Praszkier & Nowak, 2012, pp. 99-102).
The social enterprise networks created for the achievement of certain target objectives have
varied forms and are characterized by the creation of a social capital, regarding the capacity
of civil society to consolidate the economic efficiency and to create social added value by
means of developing interpersonal and collective commitment networks (Putnam, 1993). Social
capital contributes to our study regarding social enterprises, through its structural and relational
dimensions.
Social capital is widely described by different authors as: features of social organization
such as networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual
benefit (Putnam, 1995, p. 67); the ability of people to work together for common purposes
in groups and organizations (Fukuyama, 1995, p. 10); the ability of actors to secure benefits
by virtue of membership in social networks or other social structures (Portes, 1998, p. 6.);
Social capital is defined by its function. It is not a single entity, but a variety of different entities
having two characteristics in common: they all consist of some aspect of social structure,
and they facilitate certain actions of individuals who are within the structure (Coleman,
1990, p. 302).
The theorists (Liao & Welsch, 2003 apud Mair, & Martí, 2004, p. 11) have elaborated
three highly interrelated dimensions of social capital: structural capital – the structure of the
overall network of relations (Burt, 1992 apud Mair, & Martí, 2004, p. 11); relational capital
– the kind and quality of an actor’s personal relations (Granovetter, 1992, pp. 25-26 apud
Mair, & Martí, 2004, p. 11); and cognitive capital – the degree to which an individual shares
a common code and systems of meaning within a community (Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998
apud Mair & Martí, 2004, p. 11).