HomeResearchManagement and governance of cooperative and social enterprises

Management and governance of cooperative and social enterprises

This research area seeks to analyze the challenges that social and cooperative enterprises must face as they pursue high-level economic performance, whilst remaining faithful to their values and the principles that they are founded upon, through accounting and management practices that reflect their ethics. It raises important considerations within management and accounting practices, in particular, management practices related to ethics, social responsibility and social accounting.


  • |

Project List

Accounting in European cooperation

This research project aims at mapping the diversity and common patterns of social accounting practices across European cooperatives engaged in various sectors (cooperative banks, agricultural cooperatives, social enterprises). This research will also explore the degree of distinctiveness of social accounting and social reporting in cooperatives when compared with the instrumental nature of social accounting in for-profit companies. The underlying hypothesis is that social accounting in cooperatives is coupled with real strategic and operational activities. 

Symbolic management in social enterprises

When compared to typical for-profit or non-profit organizations, social enterprises are hybrid organizations. Therefore, from an institutional perspective, social enterprises must conform to the norms and values that straddle both the non-profit and the for profit sectors in order to gain legitimacy.