Improving the Legal Environment for Social Entrepreneurship in Europe

Abstract

Recently, ‘social entrepreneurship’ has been growing rapidly. Social enterprises devote their activities to achieving objectives directed at benefiting the community, improving human well-being and preserving the environment.

One of the enabling factors for social entrepreneurship is the presence of a supportive legal and tax environment. In the light of the definition communicated by the European Commission concerning social entrepreneurship, this article discusses three corporate structures which were introduced to support social enterprises in Belgium, the UK and Greece. Drawing on inspiration from these national corporate laws, this article reflects on their innovative approaches regarding corporate purpose, corporate governance and accountability applicable to social enterprises.

Keywords: social enterprises; social entrepreneurship; corporate legal structures; non-profit; sustainable development