A viability study of social economy companies in the market economic system. A case study of southern Spain

Abstract

In recent years Social Economy has become more accepted in the current Economic System because capitalist economic system has been shown to be imperfect. In fact, in Spain a Social Economy Law was passed last March, and Andalusia is expected to sign up to the III Pact for Social Economy. Thus, this sector is seen as a possible alternative to the current economic system. This research has attempted to quantify the qualitative components of entrepreneurial ability (innovation, cooperation, functional and productive dependence) in the companies belonging to the Social Economy sector in the territory of Seville and compare them to the traditional entrepreneurial structure from Andalusia through descriptive analysis, to confirm whether this business model based on Social Economy is a viable and a sustainable alternative over time. The results have shown that Social Economic businesses could be a better alternative to the predominant entrepreneurial model.