A geographical analysis of social enterprises: the case of Ireland
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Published Version
Date
2024
Authors
Olmedo, Lucas
O’Shaughnessy, Mary
Holloway, Paul
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Published Version
Abstract
Purpose: This study aims to conduct a geographical analysis of the distribution and type of activities developed by social enterprises in rural and urban areas of Ireland. Design/methodology/approach: The study analyses data of more than 4,000 social enterprises against a six-tier rural/urban typology, using descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests to test six hypotheses. Findings: The study shows a geographical rural–urban pattern in the distribution of social enterprises in Ireland, with a positive association between the remoteness of an area and the ratio of social enterprises, and a lack of capital-city effect related to the density of social enterprises. The analysis also shows a statistically significant geographical rural–urban pattern for the types of activities developed by social enterprises. The authors observe a positive association between the remoteness of the areas and the presence of social enterprises operating in the community and local development sector whereas the association is not significant for social enterprises developing welfare services. Research limitations/implications: The paper shows the potential of using recently developed rural–urban typologies and tools such as geographical information systems for conducting geographical research on social enterprises. The findings also have implications for informing spatially sensitive policymaking on social enterprises. Originality/value: The merging of a large national data set of social enterprises with geographical tools and data at subregional level contributes to the methodological advancement of the field of social enterprises, providing tools and frameworks for a nuanced and spatially sensitive analysis of these organisations. © 2024, Lucas Olmedo, Mary O. Shaughnessy and Paul Holloway.
Description
Keywords
Geography , Quantitative research , Rural social enterprises , Social economy organisations , Urban social enterprises
Citation
Olmedo, L., Shaughnessy, M.O. and Holloway, P. (2024) 'A geographical analysis of social enterprises: the case of Ireland. Social Enterprise Journal', 20(4), pp. 499-521. https://doi.org/10.1108/SEJ-09-2023-0105