Study on Chinese Social Enterprises 

Author: Sha Yong
Publisher: Central Compilation and Translation Press

 

Social enterprise has many definitions. However, it is apparent that the notion of a social enterprise—a business with a social mission—has gained currency in today’s society.

But the roadmap for social enterprises in China is still not clear. Theoretically, there is no universal definition. In practice, if we use international standards, few social enterprises would qualify in terms of scale.
 

Social enterprises, entrepreneurs and government officials find themselves very much puzzled by what a social enterprise is, what it can do, what sort of challenges it faces and where it should go in the future.
 

To answer these questions, Study on Chinese Social Enterprises systematically examines the driving forces, strategies and roadmap for social enterprise development. With rigorous structure and clear logic, it aims to lay bare the new model of social enterprises in China, which are defined as revenue-creating business projects that do not pursue the maximum profits, and nonprofit organizations that are not entirely dedicated to a cause.

Combining social and business functions, social enterprises play an important role in addressing community poverty, unemployment and community rights as well as achieving sustainable social development. At the same time, social enterprises provide an inspiration for China’s contemporary business development because this novel business model prompts enterprises to pay more attention to product quality and safety, manufacturing environment, employees’ rights, and philanthropy, effectively enhancing the competitiveness of all enterprises.
 

Given the current situation, the book depicts the future path for social enterprise in China from the perspective of realizing the Chinese dream. It strives to explore a “China model” for social enterprise within international academic discourse, including strengthening “top design,” building a system for healthy growth and enhancing competitiveness, improving social entrepreneur training and promoting a performance evaluation system.

 

Pei Changhong is from the Institute of Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.