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The Joys and Burdens of Multiple Legal Frameworks for Social Entrepreneurship. Lessons from the Belgian Case

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Author Info
Astrid Coates () (ISE, University of Antwerp)
Wim Van Opstal () (HIVA, Catholic University of Leuven)

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Abstract

In the last two decades, several innovative legal frameworks for social entrepreneurship were developed across Europe. The differential success of these innovations raise certain questions. Is the intrinsic design of these legal frameworks optimal for social enterprises? Secondly, is the attractive capacity of these legal frameworks high enough to attract both new as existing social enterprises? And lastly, have these new legal frameworks reached full maturity? If this is not the case, these changes may well impede rather than encourage the development of social enterprises. In this paper, we look at the Belgian situation where an innovative framework was introduced and where multiple legal frameworks for social entrepreneurship coexist. By means of a multi-disciplinary approach involving law and economics, we investigate the joys and burdens of having numerous legal frameworks for social enterprises. We provide an introduction to the Belgian legal environment for social entrepreneurship, and argue that the current institutional design is suboptimal. Finally, we conclude with lessons that can be learned from the Belgian case relevant for other countries and contexts.

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File URL: http://www.cooperatiefondernemen.be/wp/WP%20SCE%2009-03.pdf
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, HIVA, Cera Centre for Co-operative Entrepreneurship in its series Working Papers on Social and Co-operative Entrepreneurship with number 0903.

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Length: 68 pages
Date of creation: Jul 2009
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:hva:wpssce:0903

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Related research
Keywords: legal design; social enterprise;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
K22 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Corporation and Securities Law
K23 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Regulated Industries and Administrative Law
L21 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Business Objectives of the Firm
L31 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Nonprofit Institutions; NGOs

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Oliver Hart & John Moore, 1998. "Cooperatives vs. Outside Ownership," STICERD - Theoretical Economics Paper Series 346, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Klaus Heine & Wolfgang Kerber, 2002. "European Corporate Laws, Regulatory Competition and Path Dependence," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 47-71, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Samuelson, William & Zeckhauser, Richard, 1988. " Status Quo Bias in Decision Making," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 7-59, March.
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Van Opstal, Wim & Deraedt, Eva & Gijselinckx, Caroline, 2009. "Monitoring Profile Shifts and Differences among Work Integration Social Enterprises in Flanders," MPRA Paper 16398, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
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