The notion of social responsibility in social enterprises and non-profit organizations

This contribution focuses on forms of CSR of the likes of NPOs, social enterprises, co-operative firms, and multi-stakeholder governance. Their common feature is that they all are organizational types which do not maximize profits and add the social dimension in the operation and aims of the organization as fundamental elements. The explicit recognition of a social dimension can, therefore, be studied at different levels, starting from basic institutions, such as control rights and governance, up to strategic and operational dimensions such as organizational routines, managerial models and employment relations. The issue to be examined, in these respects, is how these firms design their governance consistently with the instrumental role of profit and other commercial objectives, and how the role of profit is reconciled with the main societal aims.