ABSTRACT
The paper on ‘The role and characteristics of social entrepreneurs in contemporary rural cooperative development in China’ describes how rural communities in China have experienced rapid changes in recent years under the government’s policy of ‘new countryside development’. It is found that there has been an increase in social entrepreneurship led by village leaders and capable individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit. This research is based on in-depth interviews with several of these social entrepreneurs. It aims to explore the key issues related to the role of social entrepreneurship and leadership in developing rural co-operatives. The findings suggest that there are multiple key characteristics of social entrepreneurship in the process of rural co-operative development. The research findings have implications for rural community development in transitional economies in terms of developing social entrepreneurship capabilities.
