Incubation of social and solidarity economy initiatives

Abstract

Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) organizations emerged in the 19th century through entities such as cooperatives, mutuals, and associations, characterized by community participation, social awareness, and solidarity. It is a field of study known for its heterogeneity and dynamism, marked by two temporal milestones: preand post-welfare state era, considering the different realities and responses in each of these two periods. On the other hand, business incubation emerged in the mid-20th century in the United States and later expanded worldwide. There is consensus in identifying three generations of business incubators: the first and second during the 1980s and the third from the 1990s onwards. While particularly in the last two decades there has been a proliferation of practices related to incubating initiatives and associative processes, there are gaps in research regarding incubation models specifically designed for the SSE field. Therefore, this article conducts a bibliometric analysis to identify connections between incubation and SSE. Based on the limited progress found up to this point, the study concludes with a proposal for a conceptual framework for incubating SSE initiatives, grounded in empirical evidence regarding antecedents, organizational factors, and outcomes.