ABSTRACT
Rural social enterprises are independent actors that use their power to act and create scope for innovative solutions. The position between different hierarchical levels and in different fields of the society also supports the authors’ argument that rural social enterprises are hybrid organizations that share characteristics of public, business, and civil society organizations, and operate in each of these domains without fully belonging to any. Even though the companies are based on participatory governance structures, they have social entrepreneurs who have particular shaping power and authority and drive the innovation process. Policy makers on the national and the European level need to decide which role social entrepreneurship have to play in rural society and the economy. The institutionalization of rural social enterprise fields requires broader-based platforms and intermediaries that span across a range of policy domains, industries and regions. The chapter also presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in this book.
