Social economy organizations in a world in transition

This paper considers the role of the so-called third or "social economy" sector in the context of the profound structural changes which the world economy is now undergoing and which are delineating an ever broader range of social needs that are met neither by governmental action nor by conventional capitalist business enterprises. With a view to defining organizations in this sector in terms of their entrepreneurial nature, we introduce the concept of a democratically run "participation enterprise", the main embodiment of which is the cooperative. Another prominent feature is the harmony between the nature of a cooperative, certain values that are deeply rooted in today's society and some trends in modern business management.