THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP ON THE INCREASE OF SOCIAL INCLUSION IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Abstract

Social entrepreneurship is an idea that has awakened much interest in recent decades, because it is based on different approaches of classical economic understanding. Initiatives of social entrepreneurship are always associated with humane ideas, aiming at the general social well-being, as opposed to traditional entrepreneurship, in which the profit is the primary goal and the main measure of success. Human Development Report: Social Inclusion in Bosnia and Herzegovina showed that over 50% of the population was socially excluded, on various grounds. Among the most vulnerable were the persons with disabilities and young people. Bearing in mind these facts, the main goal of our research was to explore and to present possibilities for overcoming social exclusion through highlighting the influence of the development of small and medium enterprises on the increase of social inclusion. The research included a survey among 20 institutions related to the field of social entrepreneurship, 100 non-governmental organizations and 100 small and medium enterprises. By using simple logarithmic regression, we partially confirmed that development of small and medium enterprises significantly influences the increase of social inclusion in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Keywords

• social entrepreneurship
• social enterprises
• persons with disabilities
• young people