engleski

Economy of communion as a socially responsible approach to business – students' perception of main drivers and obstacles to join the economy of communion projects

The paper deals with a possible strategy of overcoming inequality in society that was especially aggravated by the latest global financial crisis – the economy of communion (EoC). The EoC emerged in Brazil at the beginning of the 1990s with the idea of setting or transforming small commercial business so that their profits, by applying and nurturing a „culture of giving“, could be distributed to those in need. More specifically, the idea was to divide the profits into three equal parts and use them for direct aid for the poor, educational projects which could help further a culture of communion, and development of the businesses. As a specific attempt to address acute social problems by creating businesses that are integral parts of their communities, this movement has gained success in many countries around the globe and eventually attracted academics into the field. There is, however, a lack of research in the area so more primary studies are needed to contribute to the understanding and further development of the field. In order to investigate the main drivers and motivation to join such an initiative as well as to identify the main obstacles to join, we conducted an empirical study among students at University of Zagreb. As young people are facing high unemployment rates, which is especially pronounced among young educated individuals in Croatia, one of our goals was to assess the possibility of our respondents to engage in such socially responsible projects. The results of the research could potentially serve as an indicator to various governmental bodies on the perceptions of highly-educated individuals on the main obstacles of becoming a socially responsible entrepreneur.

economy of communion, corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, non-profit organizations, students' perceptions

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