IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/annpce/v86y2015i2p221-244.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Mind the Gap: Expectations and Experiences of Clients Utilizing Job-Training Services in a Social Enterprise

Author

Listed:
  • Marlene WALK
  • Itay GREENSPAN
  • Honey CROSSLEY
  • Femida HANDY

Abstract

This paper offers an underexplored perspective of social impact assessment by integrating clients evaluation of the impact of job-training and skills-building programs. Drawing on the literature of met expectations, we investigate the personal and social impact, beyond job placement, of job-training and skills-building programs provided by a Canadian social enterprise from the perspective of the clients. Utilizing data from a pre-test/post-test quasi-experiment, we assess the differences, between program participants as compared to a control group of nonparticipants, on several measures. Findings illuminate the gap between expectations and actual experiences, and point to the importance of integrating the clients perspective. Such measures enable leaders of social enterprises to account for the often neglected intangibles of their social missions.

Suggested Citation

  • Marlene WALK & Itay GREENSPAN & Honey CROSSLEY & Femida HANDY, 2015. "Mind the Gap: Expectations and Experiences of Clients Utilizing Job-Training Services in a Social Enterprise," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 86(2), pages 221-244, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:annpce:v:86:y:2015:i:2:p:221-244
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/apce.12080
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rajendra K. Misra & Maurita A. Kilroy, 1992. "Immigrant Mental Health: An Experien tial Approach," Psychology and Developing Societies, , vol. 4(2), pages 149-163, September.
    2. Jane Gibbon & Colin Dey, 2011. "Developments in Social Impact Measurement in the Third Sector: Scaling Up or Dumbing Down?," Social and Environmental Accountability Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(1), pages 63-72, April.
    3. Roger Spear & Eric Bidet, 2005. "Social enterprise for work integration in 12 european countries: a descriptive analysis," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(2), pages 195-231, June.
    4. Laurie Mook & Jack Quarter, 2006. "Accounting for the social economy: the socioeconomic impact statement," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 77(2), pages 247-269, June.
    5. Schellenberg, Grant & Houle, Rene, 2010. "New Immigrants' Assessments of Their Life in Canada," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2010322e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Drencheva, Andreana & Stephan, Ute & Patterson, Malcolm G. & Topakas, Anna, 2021. "Navigating interpersonal feedback seeking in social venturing: The roles of psychological distance and sensemaking," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(4).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fabienne Fecher & Benoît Lévesque, 2008. "The Public Sector And The Social Economy In The Annals (1975–2007): Towards A New Paradigm," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 79(3‐4), pages 679-727, September.
    2. Teresa Savall Morera & Carmen Guzmán & Francisco J. Santos, 2022. "Measuring the impact of sheltered workshops through the SROI: A case analysis in southern Spain," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(2), pages 381-415, June.
    3. Pier Angelo MORI, 2014. "Community And Cooperation: The Evolution Of Cooperatives Towards New Models Of Citizens' Democratic Participation In Public Services Provision," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 85(3), pages 327-352, September.
    4. Millo, Yuval & Barman, Emily & Hall, Matthew, 2016. "Accounting measurement tools and their impact on managerial decision making," economic sociology. perspectives and conversations, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, vol. 17(2), pages 17-23.
    5. Nan L. Maxwell & Dana Rotz, 2017. "Potential Assistance for Disadvantaged Workers: Employment Social Enterprises," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 145-168, June.
    6. Antonio PICCIOTTI & Andrea BERNARDONI & Massimo COSSIGNANI & Luca FERRUCCI, 2014. "Social Cooperatives In Italy: Economic Antecedents And Regional Distribution," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 85(2), pages 213-231, June.
    7. Jose Luis Retolaza & Leire San-Jose, 2021. "Understanding Social Accounting Based on Evidence," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, April.
    8. Dufour, Bryan, 2019. "Social impact measurement: What can impact investment practices and the policy evaluation paradigm learn from each other?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 18-30.
    9. Eric Bidet & Hyungsik Eum, 2022. "Une analyse socio‐économique de la trajectoire institutionnelle de l'entreprise sociale : le cas de la Corée du Sud," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(1), pages 229-247, March.
    10. Wei Deng & Qiaozhuan Liang & Peihua Fan & Lin Cui, 2020. "Social entrepreneurship and well-being: The configurational impact of institutions and social capital," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(4), pages 1013-1037, December.
    11. O’Shaughnessy Mary & O’Hara Patricia, 2016. "Social Enterprise in Ireland – Why Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) Dominate the Discourse," Nonprofit Policy Forum, De Gruyter, vol. 7(4), pages 461-485, December.
    12. Wim Van Opstal & Lize Borms, 2024. "Work integration ambitions of startups in the circular economy," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95(2), pages 477-504, June.
    13. Laura Berardi & Laurie Mook, 2023. "New digital technologies for social impact assessment: Considerations for Italian social economy organizations," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2023(2 Suppl.), pages 109-132.
    14. Dolores Gallardo‐Vázquez & Inna Choban de Sousa Paiva & Cristina Nuevo‐Gallardo, 2025. "Exploring the role of sustainability reporting strategies in promoting sustainable development in social economy entities: The circular economy as a mediator," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(2), pages 2902-2925, April.
    15. Carlos Serrano-Cinca & Begoña Gutiérrez-Nieto & Nydia M. Reyes, 2013. "A Social Approach to Microfinance Credit Scoring," Working Papers CEB 13-013, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    16. Hochstädter, Anna Katharina, 2017. "Impact measurement in venture philanthropy organizationsː A single case study," WiSo-HH Working Paper Series 42, University of Hamburg, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences, WISO Research Laboratory.
    17. Roy, Michael J. & Donaldson, Cam & Baker, Rachel & Kerr, Susan, 2014. "The potential of social enterprise to enhance health and well-being: A model and systematic review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 182-193.
    18. Saka-Helmhout, Ayse & Álamos-Concha, Priscilla & Polo-Barceló, Carlos & Edwards, Tony & Murray, Gregor, 2024. "Corporate social innovation by multinationals: A framework for future research," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(5).
    19. Matthew Hall & Yuval Millo & Emily Barman, 2015. "Who and What Really Counts? Stakeholder Prioritization and Accounting for Social Value," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(7), pages 907-934, November.
    20. Hall, Matthew & Millo, Yuval & Barman, E, 2015. "Who and what really counts? Stakeholder prioritization and accounting for social value," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 62354, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:annpce:v:86:y:2015:i:2:p:221-244. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1370-4788 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.