External Factors Determining the Growth of Social Economy Organizations: The Effects of Market, Government, and Civil Society

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper investigates and identifies external factors that may explain the current growth of social economy organizations in South Korea, including social enterprises, (social) cooperatives, and community businesses. The density of these organizations per 10,000 people in South Korea’s 228 municipal governments in 2016 is used as a measure of their growth. The study utilizes a regression analysis to examine the impact of three different sectors – government, market, and civil society – on social economy. The findings indicate that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and social capital within the civil society sector are the primary drivers of social economy growth. Empirical results support theories that advocate for collaboration between social enterprises and the market sector, as evidenced by the density of social economic organizations. In contrast, variables representing government engagement do not significantly impact the density of social economy organizations. In addition, empirical results imply that the determinants that affect the distribution of social enterprises are different from independent variables that affect the distribution of community businesses. This means that social enterprises and community businesses are essentially different. The paper concludes by suggesting that local communities develop social economy strategies that align with their unique characteristics and that municipal governments create social infrastructures to facilitate collaboration between social economy organizations and NGOs.