This paper aims to explore the possible role of social enterprises as vehicles for socioeconomic development at both national and local level with special regard to the Polish case.
Following a description of the social enterprise as a concept, attention is devoted to the impact of social enterprises upon local development in transitional countries. Next, the second part of this contribution focuses on the outcomes of an empirical analysis – conducted in May-June 2007 – that involved 26 social enterprises located in 7 voivodships in Poland.
Given the goal of assessing the impact of social enterprises on the socio-economic development of the localities they fit in, this contribution emphasizes the role of social enterprises in: supplying general-interest services, favouring a more balanced use of local resources, generating new employment, enhancing the social capital that is accumulated at local level, and institutionalizing informal activities.