Social innovation in worker co-operatives: a cross-comparative research between Argentinian and British cases
(2018) International Cooperative Alliance - European Research Conference 2018- Abstract
- The Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) have proved to combat inequalities, neoliberal policies, and ultimately, counteract the hegemonic economic rationale imposed by the market (Gaiger 2007). In particular, co-operatives are engaged in some market activity, although the economic principle does not prevail over the social objectives of the organisation. Indeed, this is the core of the social innovation of the SSE: they are democratically structured organisations that seek to meet economic needs through non-economic strategies with the collective as the main source of process (Dash 2014).
In the actual political economic context, the study of Social Innovation (SI) in worker co-operatives, which is understood as a change in social... (More) - The Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) have proved to combat inequalities, neoliberal policies, and ultimately, counteract the hegemonic economic rationale imposed by the market (Gaiger 2007). In particular, co-operatives are engaged in some market activity, although the economic principle does not prevail over the social objectives of the organisation. Indeed, this is the core of the social innovation of the SSE: they are democratically structured organisations that seek to meet economic needs through non-economic strategies with the collective as the main source of process (Dash 2014).
In the actual political economic context, the study of Social Innovation (SI) in worker co-operatives, which is understood as a change in social relations that provoke new forms of organisation, practices, and knowledge (Avelino et al. 2015), can provide interesting insights in two dimensions. On a micro level, although innovation as a concept has been attached to technological breakthrough (Markard et al. 2012), the study of co-operatives challenges this univocal meaning, and can reveal innovative solutions for organisation, management, and decision-making. In addition, on a macro level, as co-op principles are in contradiction with market rationale (Raffaelli 2016), their study can also provide innovative solutions for systemic crisis of the capitalism. In order to explore this double transformative role, I adopt a substantivist economic approach (Muellerleile 2013), taking into account the socio-political context of worker co-operatives grounded in different places.
Two case studies of printing worker co-operatives, one in Buenos Aires and another in London, are drawn upon to highlight the range of social innovation that co-ops can provide in political, economic, social and environmental terms. Through a critical ethnographic approach (Angrosino 2007) that comprised participant observation (Robson 2011) and in-depth active interviews (Holstein and Gubrium 1995), the aim of this research was to understand the range of innovative actions that worker co-operatives can provide in different geographical context. Drawing on a substantivist framework influenced by Karl Polanyi’s ideas, I argue that innovation is framed by political and state structures, economic stability, and social relations. This also opens up an epistemological debate, highlighting the particular nature of the concept of ‘innovation’ around the world and challenging the hegemonic use that mainstream economic has made. In this sense, findings reveal that whereas co-operatives are agents of SI individually, they also can provoke a social transformation in political and economic terms in particular environments. (Less)
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- author
- Raffaelli, Paola LU
- publishing date
- 2018
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- published
- subject
- conference name
- International Cooperative Alliance - European Research Conference 2018
- conference location
- Wageningen, Netherlands
- conference dates
- 2018-07-04 - 2018-07-06
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- ccbaf4e3-4544-470a-a245-9cbc2d10648b
- date added to LUP
- 2020-12-04 15:47:08
- date last changed
- 2020-12-04 16:18:12
@misc{ccbaf4e3-4544-470a-a245-9cbc2d10648b,
abstract = {{The Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) have proved to combat inequalities, neoliberal policies, and ultimately, counteract the hegemonic economic rationale imposed by the market (Gaiger 2007). In particular, co-operatives are engaged in some market activity, although the economic principle does not prevail over the social objectives of the organisation. Indeed, this is the core of the social innovation of the SSE: they are democratically structured organisations that seek to meet economic needs through non-economic strategies with the collective as the main source of process (Dash 2014). <br/>In the actual political economic context, the study of Social Innovation (SI) in worker co-operatives, which is understood as a change in social relations that provoke new forms of organisation, practices, and knowledge (Avelino et al. 2015), can provide interesting insights in two dimensions. On a micro level, although innovation as a concept has been attached to technological breakthrough (Markard et al. 2012), the study of co-operatives challenges this univocal meaning, and can reveal innovative solutions for organisation, management, and decision-making. In addition, on a macro level, as co-op principles are in contradiction with market rationale (Raffaelli 2016), their study can also provide innovative solutions for systemic crisis of the capitalism. In order to explore this double transformative role, I adopt a substantivist economic approach (Muellerleile 2013), taking into account the socio-political context of worker co-operatives grounded in different places. <br/>Two case studies of printing worker co-operatives, one in Buenos Aires and another in London, are drawn upon to highlight the range of social innovation that co-ops can provide in political, economic, social and environmental terms. Through a critical ethnographic approach (Angrosino 2007) that comprised participant observation (Robson 2011) and in-depth active interviews (Holstein and Gubrium 1995), the aim of this research was to understand the range of innovative actions that worker co-operatives can provide in different geographical context. Drawing on a substantivist framework influenced by Karl Polanyi’s ideas, I argue that innovation is framed by political and state structures, economic stability, and social relations. This also opens up an epistemological debate, highlighting the particular nature of the concept of ‘innovation’ around the world and challenging the hegemonic use that mainstream economic has made. In this sense, findings reveal that whereas co-operatives are agents of SI individually, they also can provoke a social transformation in political and economic terms in particular environments.}},
author = {{Raffaelli, Paola}},
language = {{eng}},
title = {{Social innovation in worker co-operatives: a cross-comparative research between Argentinian and British cases}},
year = {{2018}},
}