‘Social enterprise spin-outs’: an institutional analysis of their emergence and potential

ABSTRACT

The recent phenomenon of public sector ‘social enterprise spin-outs’ is examined in order to critically assess their nature and innovative potential as providers of public services. The study utilises a theoretical model of institutional creation and change which incorporates key characteristics of ‘corporate spin-outs’ and ‘university spin-outs’ to facilitate the examination of their public sector counterparts, drawing on interview evidence from 30 newly-established social enterprise providers of health and care services in England. A main contribution of the paper is to provide a conceptual framework which sheds light on the strengths and potential vulnerabilities of social enterprise spin-outs as novel organisations that span the public, private and civil society sectors.

KEYWORDS:

• ‘Spin-out’ & ‘spin-off’ organisations
• social enterprise
• public service innovation
• public policy

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support received from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA). Grant number ES/J008435/1.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Leandro Sepulveda is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research (CEEDR), Middlesex University Business School. He has nearly twenty years’ experience on policy-oriented research specialising in enterprise and social and economic development. His current research interests include social enterprise and social; social inequalities in Europe and Latin America, population diversity and economic development (including migrant and ethnic enterprise), and SME development in developed and developing countries. His work has been commissioned by several UK government agencies, UK research councils such as the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and EU funded programmes such as EQUAL and Horizon2020. Leandro previously worked in Latin America as a Senior Researcher at the National University of General Sarmiento (UNGS) and as an external consultant for the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC-UN) in Argentina. Leandro has authored a number of journal articles, research reports, and book chapters.

Fergus Lyon is a Professor of Enterprise and Organisations in the Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research, Middlesex University in London and Deputy Director of the ESRC Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity. His research interests include social and sustainable enterprises, provision of public services by social enterprises, clustering and networks of enterprises, ethnic minority enterprise, and enterprise support policy. Recent funders include the Economic and Social Research Council, Cabinet Office, Dept of Business Innovation Skills, Innovate UK, International Labour Organisation, and a number of charities. In 2007 he was seconded to the Prime Ministers’ Strategy Unit (Health team) in the Cabinet Office. He was the social enterprise lead on the £10 m Third Sector Research Centre funded over five years by ESRC and Office for Civil Society. Previously he has carried out research in Ghana, Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Nepal. He is also a founder and director of a social enterprise preschool. Fergus has over 130 publications including 40 substantial reports for policy makers funded by UK and international donors, 25 papers in established international journals, 23 book chapters, a number of shorter policy briefings and two books on social research methodologies.

Ian Vickers is Principal Researcher at the Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research (CEEDR). He has over 20 years’ experience of researching small and medium size enterprises and economic development policy and has authored a number of academic papers, book chapters and published policy reports for government departments and agencies. Within the business school he contributes to teaching in entrepreneurship, small business and research methods, as well as PhD supervision. Areas of particular research interest are: Innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development; Social enterprise and innovation; Sustainability and the low carbon economy; Regulatory policy and enterprise; ‘Decent work’ and small firms.

Notes

1 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cabinet-office-mutuals-reach-century-success (last accessed: 9-2-17).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA): [grant number ES/J008435/1].