Vanessa Marcos

Perspectives of Social Entrepreneurship in Portugal: Comparison and Contrast with International Theoretical Approaches

Abstract: The aim of this article is to present and discuss the perspectives of social entrepreneurship conveyed by third sector organizations in Portugal in the context of the main international theoretical approaches. As part of a research project on social entrepreneurship in Portugal, the article analyses the content of 20 semi-structured interviews with key actors within the Portuguese third sector. It is assumed that the roles these actors play are a clear indicator of the importance their views can hold in defining the social entrepreneurship field in Portugal. This analysis enables us to conclude that heterogeneous views and blurred defined boundaries frame the debate on social entrepreneurship’s processes and definitions, with some actors even rejecting it in favour of other concepts such as “social economy” or “solidarity economy”. Nevertheless, the central issues that arose are associated with the individual qualities of the entrepreneur, as well as the sustainability of the initiatives.

Social Entrepreneurship Profiles: Lessons from Organizational and Management Dynamics

Abstract This paper discusses how the concept of social entrepreneurship has been applied in Portuguese Third Sector organizations. It draws on the empirical findings of a survey carried out on a sample of 89 organizations, in which data on key features of organizational dynamics were collected. Strongly rooted in mainstream European theories of social entrepreneurship, the authors propose a typology of three profiles of social entrepreneurship based on different configurations of key features of organizations, namely, models of work organization; coordination/leadership; human resources management; and funding and action planning.

The effects of education on patterns of youth integration into the labour market in Portugal

Throughout the development of capitalist societies, there has been a steady increase in the importance attributed to education/training in the process of employability: it has asserted itself as a key variable in the functioning of the labour markets. In the light of an analysis of the data in the 2007 Personnel Charts, the aim of this article is to understand to what extent educational levels still represent a variable that explains the different types of employment relationships among young people between 15 and 24 years of age. The relevant and innovative aspects of this study are, firstly, a multiple correspondence analysis of the unpublished secondary information and, secondly, the findings that new patterns of integration into the labour market have emerged, with distinctive characteristics, though they do not call into question the positive association between educational certificates and the employment relationship.