Urmanavičienė, Audronė

Individual entrepreneurship is very important as a source facilitating the development of social economy. As emphasized by Anderson, “it is not surprising that the entrepreneur appears as a hero in the innovation discourse and the modernization rhetoric, and to promote this conception, the proverb “None other but the imagination puts limits on what is possible” is repeated over and over again” (Andersen, 2008, p.55). However, the term “social entrepreneur” lacks a clear definition (Abu-Saifan, 2012), as the whole phenomenon of “social entrepreneurship” is still in early development state in Lithuania compared to other Western European countries (Greblikate, 2012). The key aim of an entrepreneur is to create economic welfare, whereas the key aim of social entrepreneurs is to achieve a social mission, contributing to social economy goals (Dees, 2001). Austin et al. (2006) note, that the key difference between social and commercial entrepreneurs is the nature of the organization’s missions and possibilities: social entrepreneurs aim at creating social worth for the society’s benefit, whilst commercial entrepreneurs aim at creating economic value for the owners of the organization. Thus, the creation of a social impact becomes central rather than the creation of profit (Dees, 2001).

This article analyses the problem of immigration. In the process of globalization, the countries are forced to solve the issues of emigration, declining birth rates, and populating ageing. Therefore, immigration may be beneficial as the immigrating people help to create economic potential by filling vacancies. However, the acceptance of immigrants and their integration often leads to debates and confronts the members of society. The methods of research: analysis of scientific literature and documents, expert interview, analysis and interpretation of the research results. The review of scientific literature and the research data, presented in this article, may be adapted for improvement of the social integration factors, while considering the way the needs of immigrants are met and the integration measures that are provided. The research has revealed the key factors, influencing the social integration of immigrants in social enterprises.

In summary, it might be concluded that the level of social capital is closely related with development of social cohesion, since active civil communities and participation of community members in volunteer activities are the required factors of social capital, promoting and increasing social, civil, and economic activity of individuals, which is based on the mutual understanding, shared values and goals of community members. Thus, following the concept of social cohesion, which is defined as creation of the environment, where individuals, groups, communities would wish to trust and cooperate for achieving the common goals, an important part of social cohesion is ensuring the development of civil communities. This development requires regular interaction between the community members and continuous support of the community network, as well as search for the ways to incorporate the social capital. Finally, close associations between development of social cohesion and high social capital level could help to solve the issues of social exclusion, arising the society and in the community.

The article analyses the aspects of provision of social services, reducing social exclusion, in the view of rational choice theory. This approach was selected due to the fact that provision of social services often leads to discussions explaining the appropriate and rational choice of assistance for the socially excluded members of society. The authors discuss the key aspects of provision of social services, considering the dimensions and factors of social exclusion in the context of rational choice theory.

This paper analyses the peculiarities of human resources management in social enterprises with a particular focus on the aspects of managing voluntary work. The aim of this article is to suggest means of improving and optimizing the process of managing voluntary work in social enterprises following the findings of the theoretical analysis and empirical research of the subject. The results of the study disclose the main challenges that executives of social enterprises, where the workforce tends to be volunteers, face. The study also analyses the impact of voluntary work to social enterprises. Following the theoretical and empirical research, the article suggests possible means of improving and developing the organisation of the voluntary work in social enterprises.

The Europe 2020 strategy emphasizes that social enterprises are very useful to the society as an important element of the social economy. As "hybrid" organizations, social enterprises seek to manage the potential tension between social and business aims. The purpose of this article is to disclose how social enterprises may harmonize social and for-profit purposes. The present research promotes sharing of best practices in the field of social business. The methods of the research are analysis of scientific literature and expert interview. The research revealed that investment into human resources of the company, strong focus on the mission hybridity and organization strategy, sufficient communication with the stakeholders, and relevant monitoring of the organization's financial and statistical indicators can help social entrepreneurs to find a balance between social and profit ambitions. The research confirmed that the phenomenon of mission drift does not depend on how much the country is mature in terms of experience with hybrid organizations and social enterprises in particular. The study can help to better understand the nature of mission drift and to plan problem mitigating solutions.