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  • Book
  • Open Access
  • © 2023

The International Handbook of Social Enterprise Law

Benefit Corporations and Other Purpose-Driven Companies

Editors:

  1. Henry Peter

    1. Geneva Centre for Philanthropy, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

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    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  2. Carlos Vargas Vasserot

    1. University of Almería, Almería, Spain

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    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  3. Jaime Alcalde Silva

    1. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    View editor publications

    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Provides a complete picture of the social enterprise movement, its evolution, and their different forms

  • Offers a broad overview of social enterprises in Europe and the USA, but also in China, Japan and Korea

  • Provides an authoritative and comprehensive overview and describes the remarkable global range of current initiatives

  • This book is open access, which means that you have free and unlimited access

Sections

Softcover Book USD 49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
This title has not yet been released. You may pre-order it now and we will ship your order when it is published on 7 Mar 2023.
Hardcover Book USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
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Table of contents (46 chapters)

  1. Purpose-Driven Companies: An International Overview

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 377-377
      PDF

    2. Social Enterprises and Benefit Corporations in Argentina

      • Dante Cracogna
      Pages 379-393Open Access

    4. Social Enterprises and Benefit Corporations in Brazil: Projects for Corporate Qualification and Capital Market Regulation

      • Calixto Salomão Filho, Rachel Avellar Sotomaior Karam
      Pages 425-440Open Access

    5. The Suitability of Belgian Law to B Corp

      • David Hiez
      Pages 441-453Open Access

    8. Social Enterprises and Benefit Corporations in China

      • Jian Li, Meng Zhao, Caiyun Xu
      Pages 497-534Open Access

    9. Social Enterprises and Benefit Corporations in Colombia

      • Francisco Reyes Villamizar
      Pages 535-552Open Access

    10. Social Enterprises and B-Corps in Ecuador

      • Esteban Ortiz, José Ignacio Morejón
      Pages 553-568Open Access

    11. The Suitability of French Law to B Corp

      • David Hiez
      Pages 569-584Open Access

    13. Social Enterprises and Certified B Corporations in Hong Kong: Development, Key Lessons Learnt, and Ways Forward

      • Ka Kui Tse, Rebecca Choy Yung, Yanto Chandra, Gilbert Lee
      Pages 601-619Open Access

    14. B Corps in India: A Sustainable Business Model

      • Puneeta Goel, Rupali Misra, Suman Lodh, Monomita Nandy, Nandita Mishra
      Pages 621-649Open Access

    15. Social Enterprises and Benefit Corporations in Italy

      • Livia Ventura
      Pages 651-674Open Access

    16. Corporations with Social Aims in the Japanese Legal System

      • Nobuko Matsumoto
      Pages 675-692Open Access

    17. The Suitability of Luxembourgish Law to B Corp

      • David Hiez
      Pages 693-706Open Access

    18. Certified B Corps in Mexico

      • Luis Manuel C. Méjan
      Pages 707-728Open Access

    19. Benefit Corporations in the Peruvian Legal Ecosystem

      • Juan Diego Mujica Filippi, Claudia Ochoa Pérez
      Pages 729-738Open Access

    20. Social Enterprises and Benefit Corporations in Portugal

      • Deolinda Meira, Maria Elisabete Ramos
      Pages 739-758Open Access
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About this book

This open-access book brings together international experts who shed new light on the status of social enterprises, benefit corporations and other purpose-driven companies. The respective chapters take a multidisciplinary approach (combining law, philosophy, history, sociology and economics) and provide valuable insights on fostering social entrepreneurship and advancing the common good.

In recent years, we have witnessed a significant shift of how business activities are conducted, mainly through the rise of social enterprises. In an effort to target social problems at their roots, social entrepreneurs create organizations that bring transformative social changes by considering, among others, ethical, social, and environmental factors. A variety of social enterprise models are emerging internationally and are proving their vitality and importance.

But what does the term “social enterprise” mean? What are its roots? And how does it work in practice within the legal framework of any country? This handbook attempts to answer these questions from a theoretical, historical, and comparative perspective, bringing together 44 contributions written by 71 expert researchers and practitioners in this field. The first part provides an overview of the social enterprise movement, its evolution, and the different forms entities can take to meet global challenges, overcoming the limits of what governments and states can do. The second part focuses on the emergence of benefit corporations and the growing importance of sustainability and societal values, while also analyzing their different legal forms and adaptation to their regulatory environment. In turn, the last part presents the status quo of purpose-driven companies in 36 developed and emerging economies worldwide.

This handbook offers food for thought and guidance for everyone interested in this field. It will benefit practitioners and decision-makers involved in social and community organizations, as well as in international development and, more generally speaking, social sciences and economics.
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Keywords

  • Social Enterprises
  • B-Corps
  • Social Business Inititive
  • BCorp Certification
  • Benefit Corporations
  • Social Entrepreneurship
  • Corporate Social Responsibility
  • CSR
  • Open Access
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Editors and Affiliations

  • Geneva Centre for Philanthropy, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    Henry Peter

  • University of Almería, Almería, Spain

    Carlos Vargas Vasserot

  • Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Jaime Alcalde Silva

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About the editors

Henry Peter is a full professor at the University of Geneva, Faculty of Law, and has set up and been the head of the now internationally know university’s Geneva Centre for Philanthropy since 2017. For over 30 years, his teachings and numerous publications have focused on companies’ structures and governance and their social responsibility and purpose. In 2014, he launched the “Philanthropy Series,” a series of successful public conferences at the university. Additionally, he is a member of a number of organizations dealing with governance and ethical issues and sits on several boards of public entities as well as foundations, associations, and private companies.

Carlos Vargas Vasserot is a full professor of Commercial Law at the University of Almeria (Spain) and director of the Center for Research in Social Economy Law and Cooperative Enterprise (CIDES), which has become an academic reference in Spain in a few years, with important international connections. He has an extensive scientific career, being the author of more than 80 papers and several academic books for which he has received some scientific awards. He is currently the principal investigator of three R&D&I projects that deal with corporate social innovation, social enterprises, and social cooperatives, which are currently the main lines of research.

Jaime Alcalde Silva is an associate professor of private law at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Faculty of Law. For 15 years, his teachings and publications have focused on the law of contracts, land law, company law, and social enterprises and cooperatives. In these two last matters, he worked as a consultant to the Minister of Economy, Development, and Tourism of the Republic of Chile during 2014–2015. In 2015, he coordinated the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Chilean commercial code. Since 2016, he has participated in the commission to elaborate on the project of the new Commercial Code for Chile.
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Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The International Handbook of Social Enterprise Law

  • Book Subtitle: Benefit Corporations and Other Purpose-Driven Companies

  • Editors: Henry Peter, Carlos Vargas Vasserot, Jaime Alcalde Silva

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14216-1

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Law and Criminology, Law and Criminology (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2023

  • License: CC BY

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-14215-4Published: 30 December 2022

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-14218-5Due: 07 March 2023

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-14216-1Published: 29 December 2022

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVIII, 960

  • Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Private International Law, International and Foreign Law, Comparative Law, Business Law, Business Ethics, Social Economy

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Softcover Book USD 49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
This title has not yet been released. You may pre-order it now and we will ship your order when it is published on 7 Mar 2023.
Hardcover Book USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Learn about institutional subscriptions