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De-linking Enterprise Culture from Capitalism and its Public Policy Implications

University of Sheffield, UK, C.C.Williams{at}sheffield.ac.uk

Although a small literature has recently emerged that highlights the existence of social entrepreneurship, the idea that entrepreneurship and enterprise culture might be other than profit-driven capitalist endeavour is seldom entertained. Instead, enterprise culture is widely viewed as a by-word for contemporary capitalist culture. The aim of this article is to evaluate critically this dominant narrative. To do this, GEM's UK Social Entrepreneurship Monitor is used to compare the levels and ratios of commercial-to-social entrepreneurship across various population groups and areas in the UK. The finding is that one-third of all entrepreneurs are driven primarily by social goals rather than profit, and that cultures of entrepreneurship markedly vary across population groups and areas, with rural and marginalized populations displaying a greater propensity to engage in social rather than profit-driven entrepreneurship. The article concludes by discussing the public policy implications of this finding that enterprise cultures are not everywhere and always profit-driven, raising questions not only about whether the promotion of profit-driven entrepreneurship in marginalized populations is akin to parachuting in an alien enterprise culture but also whether a focus upon social entrepreneurship might promote greater inclusiveness in the enterprise culture agenda than is currently the case.

Key Words: enterprise culture • entrepreneurship • public policy • third sector • UK

Public Policy and Administration, Vol. 22, No. 4, 461-474 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0952076707081590


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