University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

Belgium
Law of 13
April 1995
United
Kingdom
Community
Interest
Company
regulations
2005
Finland
Law n.
1351/2003
Limited
company;
Limited liability
co-operative
society; private
limited liability
society
Enterprises
regulated by
Companies Act
1985
All enterprises
regardless of
their legal form
and ownership
structure
Redistribution
of profits is
possible, but
limited
Partial
distribution of
profits allowed
Distribution of
profits allowed
with no
constraints
Participatory
nature
Participatory
nature
Participatory
governance
not
envisaged
Activities that
are aimed at
pursuing a
social goal.
What
constitutes a
social goal
results from
constitutive
elements
foreseen by
the
legislation.
Wide range of
activities that
correspond to
the needs of
communities.
Social
definition
assessed by
the Regulator
Social
enterprises
have to
employ at
least 30% of
people with
disabilities
and long-term
unemployed
409
In Italy, a new cooperative legal form – the ‘social cooperative’ (cooperativa sociale)
– was introduced in 1991 with the purpose of recognizing and providing a legal
framework for specific social entrepreneurial activities, namely the provision of
social services and the employment of disadvantaged people. Social cooperatives
have so far represented the main type of social enterprise in Italy.
Other countries followed the Italian example. Portugal, for example, created the
‘social solidarity cooperatives’ (cooperativas de solidariedade social). These
organizations are designed to support vulnerable groups and socially disadvantaged
communities, with a view to achieving their economic integration. However, unlike
Italian social cooperatives, Portuguese social solidarity cooperatives are only weakly
embedded in the social fabric; this can be accounted for by the top-down nature of
the process that has led to their creation (EMES-UNDP 2008).
An example of social enterprises that are supposed to be the result of local dynamics
is provided by the French ‘cooperative society of collective interest’ (societe
cooperative d’interet collectif, or SCIC), which was introduced in 2001. The French