Social entrepreneurship as a professional career path for the young generation in Poland

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26485/SPE/2020/114/19

Keywords:

hybrid organisations, labour markets, social responsibility

Abstract

Background: In Poland, just like it happens worldwide, we are observing a generational shift when it comes to values and people’s needs. The current young generation is characterised by higher level of social and ecological awareness than the previous ones. Social entrepreneurship has the potential to channel this drive for social engagement seen in the representatives of differ­ent sectors, however, in Poland this type of activity is not well known. Although extended studies have been conducted on the issues related to social economy, the scholars’ focus has not been placed on this particular subject so far.

Research purpose: The purpose of this article is to examine whether the pro-social attitudes of the young people in Poland are being fully utilised; whether social entrepreneurship has the po­tential of becoming a career path for them, and how the popularization of social entrepreneurship in the academic space could contribute to achieving such status by this model.

Methods: The research methods used were: literature studies, participant observation, in-depth interviews and surveys.

Conclusions: The research confirmed that the young generation is characterised by the awareness of social problems and the will to solve them. It showed that there is a relation between the level of involvement of the people in different countries in social entrepreneurship, and level of their knowledge about this model as a result of it being popularised in various forms in those societies.

The above results allow to draw the following conclusions: The potential of the socially involved focus of the young generation in Poland is not taken advantage of to the fullest extend as a result of, among other factors, the lack of awareness about social entrepreneurship. For this to change, it is necessary to spread the knowledge about this model, and in particular about its possibilities as a career choice, through: 1. the inclusion of social entrepreneurship as a subject in the higher education’s curriculums, and with time the establishment of social entrepreneurship departments at universities with an economic profile and at faculties of social sciences; 2. giving a separate legal form to this model on a par with other entities within social economy; 3. adding a social entrepreneur to the official list of professions.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Bornstein D., How to Change the World. Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, Oxford University Press, 2007.

Bugg-Levine A., Emerson J., Impact Investing. Transforming How We Make Money While Making a Difference, Jossey-Bass, 2011.

Ferri E., Urbano D., Social Entrepreneurship and Environmental Factors: A Cross-Country Comparison, Research Work, International Doctorate in Entrepreneurship and Business Management Department of Business Economics & Administration, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, 2011, cyt. za: P. Light, The search for social entrepreneurship, Brookings, Washington, DC, 2008.

Perrini F., Vurro C., Social Entrepreneurship: Innovation and Social Change Across Theory and Practice, w: J. Mair, J. Robinson, K. Hockerts (red.), Social Entrepreneurship, Palgrave Macmillan, London 2006, s. 57–87.

Popowska M., Przedsiębiorczośćspołeczna jako klucz do skutecznej edukacji przedsiębiorczej na społecznie odpowiedzialnym uniwersytecie, Horyzonty Wychowania 2018/17 (42), s. 205–218.

Porter E.M., Kramer R.M., Tworzenie wartości dla biznesu i społeczeństwa, Harvard Business Review Polska 2011/99.

Praszkier R., Nowak A., Przedsiębiorczość społeczna. Teoria i praktyka, Wolters Kluwer, Warszawa 2015.

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300; stan na 12.07.2019 r.

www.ngo.pl; stan na 7.05.2019 r.

Yunus M., Building Social Business, PublicAffairs 2011.

Yunus M., Crating a World Without Poverty. Social Business and the Future of Capitalism, PublicAffairs, New York 2007.

Yunus M., A World of Three Zeros. The New Economics of Zero Poverty, Zero Unemployment, and Zero Carbon Emissions, Scribe Publications 2018.

http://ashoka-cee.org/poland/; stan na 20.06.2019 r.

https://www.socialchallenges.eu; stan na 15.05.2019 r.

www.changemakers.com; stan na 20.06. 2019 r.

Downloads

Published

2020-06-01

How to Cite

Stępczak, E. (2020). Social entrepreneurship as a professional career path for the young generation in Poland. Studia Prawno-Ekonomiczne, 114, 351–364. https://doi.org/10.26485/SPE/2020/114/19

Issue

Section

ARTICLES - THE ECONOMICS