ABSTRACT
Social services such as childcare, elder care, health care and education have primarily been provided by the public sector in the welfare society that emerged during the twentieth century in Sweden. Non-profit organizations had a limited role in delivering social services. Entrepreneurship, in the basic understanding of entre prendre, or in other words, entering into and grasping something, is increasingly being recognised in social spheres even if what is referred to as social varies. During the first half of the twentieth century, a relatively extensive public sector was developed and organized in a way that has been labelled the Scandinavian welfare model. The Swedish welfare model was increasingly debated during the 1980s and the following decades. The welfare arena is far from simplistic. National policy-making processes are interrelated with regional and local processes. Social dimensions are often an integrated part of the incentives for individuals starting an enterprise and for individuals working as owner-managers.
