The SSE is an overarching concept, combining substantive and statutory dimensions. It is defined by the values and principles it promotes, and by the range of organizations and enterprises that enshrine these values and principles in their missions and modes of operation. Placing their mission above the generation of profits for shareholders, these are mainly cooperatives, mutual societies, and non-profit organizations. The 2022 International Labour Conference resolution on the SSE (ILO, 2022), includes informal SSE entities, self-help organizations, and community-based initiatives (see Box 1.1), and refers to Indigenous and Tribal peoples, echoing concerns of the Global South (Bouchard & Hiez, 2022). The decline of state funding has also been accompanied by the amplification of the role of charities and philanthropic foundations in the field. Newer concepts such as “social enterprise” capture, on the one hand, the recent evolution of non-profits that turn to market resources in reaction to the reduction of public support to their social mission, and, on the other hand, the emergence of businesses led by private entrepreneurs in the social sphere. The latter's inclusion in the SSE is, however, somewhat controversial.
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