”Social Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprises – Nordic Perspectives” is a new book on social enterprises in a particular Nordic perspective. The book is edited by professor Linda Lundgaard Andersen and Roger Spear from Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Roskilde University and Marlin Gawell from Södertörns högskola in Stockholm.

Migrant women stepping into ethnic catering; homeless men employed to take care of bees producing honey for sale; young people on the edge getting microcredit funding to start social businesses; or former criminals joining forces to create social and economic structures for an honest lifestyle. These initiatives capture the transformative power of social enterprise and might indicate how social enterprises have the potential to make a difference for people and societies. The Nordic countries represent an interesting case. Social enterprises and co-operatives played a significant part in paving the way for the Nordic solicaristic welfare state.

As the welfare state grew, civil society organizations and co-operatives lost ground, to a certain extent. But in recent decades, the welfare state has been restructured and, simultaneously, the concepts social entrepreneurship and social enterprises have gained attention. The Nordic context, with extensive public welfare structures and a high degree of citizens’ participation in public affairs, might affect the emergence of social entrepreneurship and social enterprises.

The book is part of Routledge Studies in Social Enterprise & Social Innovation, that looks to examine these increasingly important academic research themes as a central concept for social theories and policies. Routledges series looks to examine and explore the activities of social participation among civil society organisations, SMEs, governments and research institutions, publishing the breakthrough books of the new frontiers of the field as well as the state of the nation defining books that help advance the field.

Social Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprises has 284 pages and can be bought at Routledge:   Click here!