Social Responsibility of Cooperatives versus Entrepreneurship. Achieving the Social Mission while Achieving Business Goals

Abstract

The current economic model operating in Poland is a market economy. Like any type of state’s behaviour towards the economy, it has advantages and disadvantages. Its disadvantage is the phenomenon of exclusion of a particular, not insignificant part of society – such as addicts, the long-term unemployed, or people with disabilities. It is causing structural unemployment in entire areas. In turn, it contributes to the accumulation of negative moods, tensions, conflicts, and polarization in society. Previous actions the legislator took to offset these negative effects, especially the numerous attempts to reintegrate socially excluded people into the labour market, have not yielded satisfactory results. The answer to these problems may be the development of social entrepreneurship, i.e. social cooperatives. Thus, it is worth considering whether it is possible for social cooperatives to simultaneously carry out their social missions so that, at the same time, they make more and more profit and thus achieve further business goals.