Social economy: Community action towards social integration and the prevention of unemployment and poverty

In these times, when unemployment, marginalization and poverty are spreading while world capitalism takes its course, new approaches for guaranteeing subsistence at the community level need to be explored. Social economy provides people with an alternative which is work-intensive, equitable, and integrative. It is based on the principles of grass-roots democracy and can be facilitated through community-based social work. First, this paper outlines how social economy can be constituted and developed. Secondly, it describes successful community-based business enterprises and federations of social co-operatives in Switzerland, Germany and Italy. These profiles provide evidence that community workers can and must help to create, reinstate, and redesign social, political, and economic bonds within the community.     

Internationaler Joint Venture Erfolg: Eine Meta-Analyse

To analyze the success factors of international joint ventures (IJVs), this study meta-analytically integrates 106 studies of 32.318 firms. The results show that the success factors from the partner level (e.g., operational and strategic fit, partner experience) and IJV level (e.g., commitment, trust, control, interdependence, conflicts, conflict management, and organizational learning) determine IJV performance. Further, results reveal that IJV type, industry, and geographical distance moderate the relationships between success factors and IJV performance. Thus, this study contributes to extant knowledge by synthesizing and contextualizing quantitative empirical IJV research.     

Social and solidarity economy for sustainable development: its premises – and the Social Economy Basel example of practice

The social and solidarity economy (SSE) is a viable strategy in dealing with some contemporary problems known both in industrial and developing countries. SSE is contextualized against the background of recent developments: the liberalization of goods and capital flows worldwide, continued industrialization, and the increased global division of labour. Addressed is how local populations could reach certain objectives and satisfy certain needs using techniques characteristic of SSE and, thus, carve out a social and economic space of their own vis-à-vis anonymous markets, global actors, and local and national elites. Within this self-governed space, it is suggested, a path can be laid for the necessary transition towards local, social, and ecological sustainability. The Social Economy Basel (SEB, founded 1996) will serve as an example to suggest how SSE principles could be operationalized into organizational practice.     

1989-2009，一位外语教师的中国印象

1989年8月10日,一列发自莫斯科的列车在撞击铁轨的咣当声中驶入长春。在我的左右,工厂升起浓烟,铁轨两边满是简陋的平房,在细雨中沉闷无声。一丝担心闪过心头。但前来接我的吉林大学代表们的热情,瞬间扫走了我的疑虑。我们很快行驶过又宽又长的斯大林大街（后改为人民大街）,到了外国专家大院,我的公寓令人愉悦。