Rethinking sustainable competitiveness beyond traditional perspectives: role and contribution of the Social Economy

The European Union is committed to fostering a social market economy that promotes sustainable growth, social justice, and economic competitiveness. In this context, the social economy has emerged as a potential driver of innovation, job creation, and social inclusion. On the other hand, there is still a persistent knowledge gap in the literature when it comes to appreciate the multifaceted contribution social economy actors make in shaping and advancing economic competitiveness within and across the EU society and its impact on inclusive wellbeing and the environment (for example, the prevention of environmental degradation or loss of biodiversity). Sustainable competitiveness and shared prosperity are key a political priority of the new European Commission. In this context, the notion of sustainable competitiveness is less about relative labour cost and more about skills, innovation, entrepreneurship and adaptation. It focuses on the ability for an individual, a firm, a sector, or a country to increase shared prosperity in relation to the current and future environment and society. The link between social economy and sustainable competitiveness relies on innovation, which needs to be made broader, going beyond “mere” technological innovation and embrace social or even better societal innovation. Proposals should focus on exploring the potential virtuous relationships between social economy, sustainable competitiveness and shared prosperity. Research (including from SSH disciplines) should focus on a deeper understanding of the factors contributing to the sustainable competitiveness of social economy entities on one side and, on the other, its possible impact on EU sustainable competitiveness. This requires addressing knowledge gaps, such as the lack of a comprehensive framework to measure the social economy's contribution to sustainable competitiveness in the European Union. Research may undertake a review of existing literature, analysis and develop case studies to identify the key enabling factors that make social economy entities competitive in a sustainable way, while considering the social, economic, and environmental dimensions. To better capture the role of the social economy as one of the drivers of sustainable competitiveness, the research may develop a framework to measure its contribution including with existing and new indicators and metrics. Research may identify best practices, develop toolkit and policy recommendations on how social economy in Europe can boost public and private competitiveness linked to EU shared prosperity goals (such as well-being and nature preservation). The regulatory context and its impact on the social economy's ability to contribute to sustainable competitiveness should be considered. Activities may involve interdisciplinary research, stakeholder engagement, and policy analysis. Researchers may need to draw on expertise from different fields (economics, sociology, environmental science, public administration) to develop a comprehensive understanding of the social economy's role in promoting sustainable competitiveness, in line with the EU Green Deal and in the Kunming Montreal Agreement.. The scope of this call topic is not limited to any specific sector, value chain or enabling factors, however, proposals may put emphasis on a specific one. Collaboration with stakeholders from the social economy, private sector, and public sector to develop a deeper understanding of the complex relationships between social economy and sustainable competitiveness is encouraged. The social economy covers entities sharing the following main common principles and features: the primacy of people as well as social and/or environmental purpose over profit, the reinvestment of most of the profits and surpluses to carry out activities in the interest of members/users (“collective interest”) or society at large (“general interest”) and democratic and/or participatory governance. Traditionally, the term social economy refers to four main types of entities providing goods and services to their members or society at large: cooperatives, mutual benefit societies, associations (including charities), and foundations. They are private entities, independent of public authorities and with specific legal forms. Social enterprises are now generally understood as part of the social economy. The social economy (associations, cooperatives, mutual societies, foundations, and social enterprises) provides monetary and non-monetary services, impacting on European sustainable competitiveness. Social economy actors also have a different approach to their working environment due to the societal objectives of their employers and the democratic governance of their ecosystems. Nature is an essential part of competitiveness. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has demonstrated that around 55% of the global GDP is generated by sectors moderately to highly dependent on nature. Around 72% of euro area companies are critically dependent on ecosystem services. https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/e6cd4328-673c-4e7a-8683-f63ffb2cf648_en?filename=Political%20Guidelines%202024-2029_EN.pdf