Rural social enterprises as embedded intermediaries: The innovative power of connecting rural communities with supra-regional networks



View results in:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2017.12.005
DOI: 
10.1016/j.jrurstud.2017.12.005
Provider: 
Licensing of resource: 
Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)
Type: 
journal article
Journal: 
Journal of Rural Studies
Number: 
August 2019
Pages: 
179-187
Volume: 
70
Author(s): 
Richter R.
Publisher(s): 
Description: 

The question of how social enterprises foster social innovation in rural regions remains largely unexplored. In this paper, was developed the assumption that the embeddedness of social enterprises in rural communities and their ability to connect rural communities with supra-regional networks and decision makers are crucial preconditions for generating and fostering social innovation in the countryside. By applying the social network approach and a cross-case analysis of social enterprises in rural regions of Austria and Poland, I show how rural social enterprises mobilise ideas, resources and support from external sources not primarily for their own benefit but for that of their rural region. As embedded intermediaries, they contribute to transformational change and wellbeing, albeit they are only one of many forces that drive rural development

Publication year: 
2019
Keywords: 
Rural social enterprises
Embedded intermediary
social innovation
Social network analyses
rural development