SIMON BRIDGE is the Proprietor of Simon Bridge and Associates, an economic and enterprise development consultancy. He is also a visiting professor at the University of Ulster's Northern Ireland Centre for Entrepreneurship (NICENT), UK, and is a director of several social enterprises.BRENDAN MURTAGH is a Reader in the School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering at the Queen's University of Belfast, UK. He has researched and written widely on spatial planning, urban regeneration and local development.KEN O'NEILL is Professor of Enterprise and Small Business Development at the University of Ulster's Business School, UK. He is a Chair of the School for Social Entrepreneurs in Ireland and Young Enterprise (N. Ireland), and was the first recipient of the Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion – Lifetime Achievement Award.

• 1. Why Address the Social EconomyPARTI: THE EVOLUTION AND ROLE OF THE SOCIAL ECONOMY2. The Evolution of the Social Economy3. Current Perceptions of the Social Economy and the Third Sector4. Social Enterprise and the Main Components of the Social Economy5. Present and Future PerspectivesPARTII: THE NATURE OF THE SOCIAL ECONOMY6. Characteristics of Social Enterprises7. Financing the Social Economy8. Social Capital: A Vital Enterprise Ingredient9. Advancing the Social Economy10. The Impact of the Social Economy.

'This is an interesting text book that will be of great value to students studying social enterprise, the third sector and to some extent, civil society.' - Dr. Anna Mdee, Senior Lecturer in Development Studies, University of Bradford, UK 'This book has made great strides to incorporate and embed new research, with much of the core content revisited and updated in light of developments in the field. The book should appeal to those outside of business schools as well as those studying the social economy from business and management perspectives.' - Mike Bull, Senior Lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and Chair of The Social and Sustainable Enterprise Network, Special Interest Group, Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Praise for the 1st edition: A valuable new text which explores and maps out this emerging area with useful case studies and an international context. - Paul Palmer, Professor of Voluntary Sector Management, Cass Business School, City University London, UK. Bridge, Murtagh and O'Neill explain the key ideas, identify useful models, present interesting examples, track the policy debates, and set their exposition in an international context. Their text will be a useful resource for researchers, as well as essential reading for graduate and undergraduate courses concerned with this important and fast-moving field. - Rob Paton, Professor of Social Enterprise, The Open University, UK. This text provides excellent depth and breadth of coverage allowing the reader to define the nature and characteristics of third sector organisations within a wider political and policy context. I found the chapter on social capital particularly fascinating and valuable in bringing the subject to life. Those looking for an clearly written, well structured and academically robust insight into the contribution and scope of the social economy should probably start here. - John Connell, Leader, Postgraduate Social Enterprise Programmes, Caledonian University Business School This is an extremely useful and interesting book which I'd strongly recommend to researchers and students of the social economy, as well as policymakers and staff of social enterprise support organizations. It is well organized and clearly presented, with good use of summary boxes, exercises, essay and discussion topics at the end of each section, making the book particularly useful for teaching purposes. - International Small Business Journal 28(4) September 2010 'I think it is excellent for Undergraduate level teaching and I am looking forward to using it next semester on my Module Co-operative Enterprise.' - Dr Adrian Bailey, Lecturer in Management, The University of Exeter Business School

SIMON BRIDGE is the Proprietor of Simon Bridge and Associates, an economic and enterprise development consultancy. He is also a visiting professor at the University of Ulster's Northern Ireland Centre for Entrepreneurship (NICENT), UK, and is a director of several social enterprises.BRENDAN MURTAGH is a Reader in the School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering at the Queen's University of Belfast, UK. He has researched and written widely on spatial planning, urban regeneration and local development.KEN O'NEILL is Professor of Enterprise and Small Business Development at the University of Ulster's Business School, UK. He is a Chair of the School for Social Entrepreneurs in Ireland and Young Enterprise (N. Ireland), and was the first recipient of the Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion – Lifetime Achievement Award.

• 1. Why Address the Social EconomyPARTI: THE EVOLUTION AND ROLE OF THE SOCIAL ECONOMY2. The Evolution of the Social Economy3. Current Perceptions of the Social Economy and the Third Sector4. Social Enterprise and the Main Components of the Social Economy5. Present and Future PerspectivesPARTII: THE NATURE OF THE SOCIAL ECONOMY6. Characteristics of Social Enterprises7. Financing the Social Economy8. Social Capital: A Vital Enterprise Ingredient9. Advancing the Social Economy10. The Impact of the Social Economy.

'This is an interesting text book that will be of great value to students studying social enterprise, the third sector and to some extent, civil society.' - Dr. Anna Mdee, Senior Lecturer in Development Studies, University of Bradford, UK 'This book has made great strides to incorporate and embed new research, with much of the core content revisited and updated in light of developments in the field. The book should appeal to those outside of business schools as well as those studying the social economy from business and management perspectives.' - Mike Bull, Senior Lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and Chair of The Social and Sustainable Enterprise Network, Special Interest Group, Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Praise for the 1st edition: A valuable new text which explores and maps out this emerging area with useful case studies and an international context. - Paul Palmer, Professor of Voluntary Sector Management, Cass Business School, City University London, UK. Bridge, Murtagh and O'Neill explain the key ideas, identify useful models, present interesting examples, track the policy debates, and set their exposition in an international context. Their text will be a useful resource for researchers, as well as essential reading for graduate and undergraduate courses concerned with this important and fast-moving field. - Rob Paton, Professor of Social Enterprise, The Open University, UK. This text provides excellent depth and breadth of coverage allowing the reader to define the nature and characteristics of third sector organisations within a wider political and policy context. I found the chapter on social capital particularly fascinating and valuable in bringing the subject to life. Those looking for an clearly written, well structured and academically robust insight into the contribution and scope of the social economy should probably start here. - John Connell, Leader, Postgraduate Social Enterprise Programmes, Caledonian University Business School This is an extremely useful and interesting book which I'd strongly recommend to researchers and students of the social economy, as well as policymakers and staff of social enterprise support organizations. It is well organized and clearly presented, with good use of summary boxes, exercises, essay and discussion topics at the end of each section, making the book particularly useful for teaching purposes. - International Small Business Journal 28(4) September 2010 'I think it is excellent for Undergraduate level teaching and I am looking forward to using it next semester on my Module Co-operative Enterprise.' - Dr Adrian Bailey, Lecturer in Management, The University of Exeter Business School

SIMON BRIDGE is the Proprietor of Simon Bridge and Associates, an economic and enterprise development consultancy. He is also a visiting professor at the University of Ulster's Northern Ireland Centre for Entrepreneurship (NICENT), UK, and is a director of several social enterprises.BRENDAN MURTAGH is a Reader in the School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering at the Queen's University of Belfast, UK. He has researched and written widely on spatial planning, urban regeneration and local development.KEN O'NEILL is Professor of Enterprise and Small Business Development at the University of Ulster's Business School, UK. He is a Chair of the School for Social Entrepreneurs in Ireland and Young Enterprise (N. Ireland), and was the first recipient of the Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion – Lifetime Achievement Award.

• 1. Why Address the Social EconomyPARTI: THE EVOLUTION AND ROLE OF THE SOCIAL ECONOMY2. The Evolution of the Social Economy3. Current Perceptions of the Social Economy and the Third Sector4. Social Enterprise and the Main Components of the Social Economy5. Present and Future PerspectivesPARTII: THE NATURE OF THE SOCIAL ECONOMY6. Characteristics of Social Enterprises7. Financing the Social Economy8. Social Capital: A Vital Enterprise Ingredient9. Advancing the Social Economy10. The Impact of the Social Economy.

'This is an interesting text book that will be of great value to students studying social enterprise, the third sector and to some extent, civil society.' - Dr. Anna Mdee, Senior Lecturer in Development Studies, University of Bradford, UK 'This book has made great strides to incorporate and embed new research, with much of the core content revisited and updated in light of developments in the field. The book should appeal to those outside of business schools as well as those studying the social economy from business and management perspectives.' - Mike Bull, Senior Lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and Chair of The Social and Sustainable Enterprise Network, Special Interest Group, Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Praise for the 1st edition: A valuable new text which explores and maps out this emerging area with useful case studies and an international context. - Paul Palmer, Professor of Voluntary Sector Management, Cass Business School, City University London, UK. Bridge, Murtagh and O'Neill explain the key ideas, identify useful models, present interesting examples, track the policy debates, and set their exposition in an international context. Their text will be a useful resource for researchers, as well as essential reading for graduate and undergraduate courses concerned with this important and fast-moving field. - Rob Paton, Professor of Social Enterprise, The Open University, UK. This text provides excellent depth and breadth of coverage allowing the reader to define the nature and characteristics of third sector organisations within a wider political and policy context. I found the chapter on social capital particularly fascinating and valuable in bringing the subject to life. Those looking for an clearly written, well structured and academically robust insight into the contribution and scope of the social economy should probably start here. - John Connell, Leader, Postgraduate Social Enterprise Programmes, Caledonian University Business School This is an extremely useful and interesting book which I'd strongly recommend to researchers and students of the social economy, as well as policymakers and staff of social enterprise support organizations. It is well organized and clearly presented, with good use of summary boxes, exercises, essay and discussion topics at the end of each section, making the book particularly useful for teaching purposes. - International Small Business Journal 28(4) September 2010 'I think it is excellent for Undergraduate level teaching and I am looking forward to using it next semester on my Module Co-operative Enterprise.' - Dr Adrian Bailey, Lecturer in Management, The University of Exeter Business School