ABSTRACT
In Italy, there is neither a specific legal concept nor a legal definition of ‘social enterprise’. The term is more and more used in both political and scientific debate to define those third-sector organisations that supply, in a stable and entrepreneurial manner, services aimed at combating social exclusion and, more generally, personal and community services. The term social enterprise came into use from the beginning of the 1990s with the approval of the law that recognised and defined social co-operatives. Its use has been growing with the impressive development of these new co-operatives providing both social services and promoting work integration.
