Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the reader to the Nordic tradition of Critical Utopian Action Research (CUAR) and to demonstrate how CUAR might reinvigorate participatory democracy as an intrinsic characteristic of social enterprise. This leads us to sketch out the beginnings of how researchers might work with communities to help realise their democratic impulses through social enterprise.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper aims to synthesise the participatory action research literature, particularly CUAR, with literature on social enterprise and democracy to demonstrate how the two approaches might fruitfully be combined.
Findings
The authors show how CUAR might be utilised by researchers, to articulate new social enterprise organisational responses to local problems or to reinvigorate democracy within existing social enterprises.
Originality/value
This exploratory paper marks (we believe) the first attempt to bring together social enterprise and CUAR.
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the reader to the Nordic tradition of Critical Utopian Action Research (CUAR) and to demonstrate how CUAR might reinvigorate participatory democracy as an intrinsic characteristic of social enterprise. This leads us to sketch out the beginnings of how researchers might work with communities to help realise their democratic impulses through social enterprise.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper aims to synthesise the participatory action research literature, particularly CUAR, with literature on social enterprise and democracy to demonstrate how the two approaches might fruitfully be combined.
Findings
The authors show how CUAR might be utilised by researchers, to articulate new social enterprise organisational responses to local problems or to reinvigorate democracy within existing social enterprises.
Originality/value
This exploratory paper marks (we believe) the first attempt to bring together social enterprise and CUAR.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 46-59 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Social Enterprise Journal |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 08 Oct 2019 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 29 Jan 2020 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Action research
- Normativity
- Participatory democracy
- Social enterprise
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Business, Management and Accounting (miscellaneous)
- Development
- Sociology and Political Science
- Economics, Econometrics and Finance (miscellaneous)
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law